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> so they also won't be able to perform any manned post-launch repair missions like they did with Hubble. In terms of hardware that's readily or soon to be ava

by messe 5y ago

> so they also won't be able to perform any manned post-launch repair missions like they did with Hubble. In terms of hardware that's readily or soon to be available, it is technically possible. Starship, if it gets off the ground, is the obvious choice. Orion could do it, but it would mean dumping another two billion into JWST. If it really came down to it, Falcon Heavy launched with a Crew Dragon sitting on top of it could probably reach it, although it might need an additional kick stage (I haven't done the maths), and it would need to be crew rated first (and SpaceX don't currently have an interest in doing that).

bumby 5y ago
If you consider the human to be part of that hardware, it's over 4x the distance that a human has ever travelled. There would still be a lot of technical problems to be figured out.
gaius_baltar 5y ago
Having a ship and a launcher capable of reaching the telescope is a bit different of being able to service it. I understand that just planning and preparing a mission on this scale, with current technology and processes, would take more time than the service life of the telescope itself. Also, AFAIK, Crew Dragon does not have airlocks or other resources for EVAs. Not sure it the capsule can be evacuated for that too. But I would like more information in this issue ... could not find too much from reliable sources for now.
- messe 5y ago
  > Having a ship and a launcher capable of reaching the telescope is a bit different of being able to service it. True. But generally when people bring up the statement that we can't service it, they usually back that up by citing the distance. There would still be a lot of hurdles to overcome, but none are insurmountable with relatively small investment. All of that said, if Starship works, then the economics change drastically anyway. You could probably launch an entire fleet of less reliable, but much cheaper telescopes, for less than the cost of servicing.

by messe 5y ago

bumby 5y ago

If you consider the human to be part of that hardware, it's over 4x the distance that a human has ever travelled. There would still be a lot of technical problems to be figured out.

gaius_baltar 5y ago

Having a ship and a launcher capable of reaching the telescope is a bit different of being able to service it. I understand that just planning and preparing a mission on this scale, with current technology and processes, would take more time than the service life of the telescope itself. Also, AFAIK, Crew Dragon does not have airlocks or other resources for EVAs. Not sure it the capsule can be evacuated for that too. But I would like more information in this issue ... could not find too much from reliable sources for now.

messe 5y ago
> Having a ship and a launcher capable of reaching the telescope is a bit different of being able to service it. True. But generally when people bring up the statement that we can't service it, they usually back that up by citing the distance. There would still be a lot of hurdles to overcome, but none are insurmountable with relatively small investment. All of that said, if Starship works, then the economics change drastically anyway. You could probably launch an entire fleet of less reliable, but much cheaper telescopes, for less than the cost of servicing.