With the permission of the US space agency NASA, space-interested billionaires Elon Musk and Jared Isaacman will be able to investigate in the coming months whether the “Hubble” space telescope can be transported with a higher, more stable orbit around the Earth. the help of SpaxeX’s “Dragon” spacecraft.
Musk’s space company SpaceX and technology entrepreneur Isaacman, who was part of the first all-private space mission last year, proposed the project, NASA said. They wouldn’t get any money from the space agency, at least initially, it said. That possibility has now been investigated for about six months – according to NASA it will only be decided afterwards whether it should actually be implemented.
“Hubble” is currently in use at an altitude of approximately 540 kilometers above Earth. If the observatory could be placed in a higher and more stable orbit, NASA estimates it could potentially operate several years longer than in its current orbit. Previous space shuttle missions had repeatedly lifted “Hubble” to higher orbit here.
Space telescope has been in space since 1990
“Hubble” (pictured below) is a joint project of the American space agency NASA and its European counterpart ESA. It is a visible, ultraviolet and infrared observatory and initially orbited the Earth once every 96 minutes at an altitude of 575 kilometers.
Launched on April 24, 1990 as part of the STS-31 space shuttle mission, it was the first of four space telescopes planned by NASA as part of the Great Observatory program.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
