--- title: "Ingenious Plan Could Save NASA’s Hubble Telescope" description: "Falling Slowly NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is slowly dying — but luckily, a couple of startups have a solution that may just be crazy enough to work. As Gizmodo reports, the Tokyo-based Astroscale startup and California's Momentus Space have together drafted a joint plan to save Hubble, which has been slowly sinking further into low-Earth orbit […]" date: "2023-05-10" modified: "2023-05-10" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/plan-save-hubble" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "hubble space telescope" - "NASA" - "space tug" - "the digest" --- # Ingenious Plan Could Save NASA’s Hubble Telescope ![NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is slowly dying — but luckily, a couple of startups have a solution that may just be crazy enough to work.]() *May 19, 2009 - A still image of the Hubble Space Telescope as the two spacecraft begin their relative separation after having been linked together for the better part of a week. \Image: Getty Images\* ## Falling Slowly NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is slowly falling to its death — but now**,** a couple of startups have a solution that may just be crazy enough to work. As [*Gizmodo* reports,]() the Tokyo-based Astroscale startup and California's Momentus Space have drafted a joint plan to save Hubble, which has been slowly sinking further into low-Earth orbit since it was first launched 33 years ago. At the end of 2022, NASA issued a call for proposals from the commercial sector to help Hubble. Although SpaceX, naturally, is working with NASA on its own "[feasibility study]()" to get the space telescope back into flying shape, Momentus and Astroscale's [bold new proposal]() is very intriguing as well. The plan goes a little something like this: a non-crewed rocket would launch a water-propelled "space tug" thruster into low-Earth orbit, which would then drag the Hubble up by some 31 miles. Then, after undocking, it'd remove any space junk that could mess with the telescope's new orbit. ## Joint Feature This collab, *Gizmodo* notes, is a big deal given that Momentus already has a space tug craft in the works and, earlier this week, [announced its water-propelled system](), which a spokesperson confirmed to the online news site would be used for the proposed Hubble mission should NASA choose to select the joint project. Astroscale comes in at the latter end of the proposal with its specialized space debris capture technique, which earlier this month had a nearly-successful orbital test that was unfortunately foiled at the last minute due to some weird anomalies, the Japanese company [conceded in a press release](). As the *Gizmodo* report notes, the currently untested and unproven nature of the startups' uncrewed and water-powered plan may well give NASA pause, especially considering that SpaceX has a substantial track record of pulling off tasks for the agency. But the companies' plan's novelty may, per a statement from the president of Astroscale's American operation, be the key selling point. "What we’ve proposed to NASA are options," Ron Lopez, the president and managing director of Astroscale, said in the statement. "Options that were not available during the five previous crewed servicing missions." These options, we've gotta admit, seem pretty cool — if only NASA will give these startups the money for it. **More on experimental NASA:** [*NASA Tests Snake Robot Designed to Look for Alien Life on Icy Moons*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()