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Could Hubble be feasibly operational past 2037 without maintenance? Would this just be a boost mission or repair also?

• yellowapple 4y ago
  I'm wondering the same thing. Last servicing was in 2009; poor thing is long overdue for some TLC.
• Me1000 4y ago
  NASA said in their announcement that the explorations they're doing include the feasibility of various kinds of servicing, not just boosting.
• bell-cot 4y ago
  Given Hubble's gyroscope failure problem - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Gyroscope_rotation_sensors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope#Gyrosco... - I would not count on it lasting long enough for Jared & Co. to get there. (My impression was that gyroscope replacement was a "dedicated space shuttle flight and multiple EVA's" sort of job - likely a big reach for SpaceX / Dragon / Polaris, which have flown zero EVA missions so far.) Edit: Sounds like the gyroscopes lasting long enough for Jared & Co. to get there is pretty sure. But depending on the design service life of the still-working gyro's - and a load of other critical items - 2037 is still a huge ask.
  • mkw5053 4y ago
    Hubble can operate with down to 1 gyro [1]; however, the viewable regions of the sky are limited. [1] https://esahubble.org/about/general/gyroscopes/ https://esahubble.org/about/general/gyroscopes/
  • HALtheWise 4y ago
    It should be possible to "fix" the gyroscopes by simply mounting a unit to the docking port or somewhere else on the exterior that contains a brand new gyroscope system, without needing to remove any of the existing broken gyros. It's probably necessary to make some electrical connections, but I guess it could even be possible for the strap-on gyros to have their own power electronics if that makes things easier.