NASA May Let Billionaire Astronaut and SpaceX Lift Hubble Telescope

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/29/science/nasa-hubble-spacex-polaris.html

by cl42 • 4 years ago

13 5 4 years ago

witheld• 4 years ago

kortex• 4 years ago

We already have standard docking adapters. It should be straightforward (engineering-wise) to develop standard space tugs to act as prosthetic attitude and altitude controls. Only a matter of cost. But surely it's cheaper to extend an existing telescope vs launching a brand new one.

buck4roo• 4 years ago

±required maintenance, materials and sensors reaching their end-of-planned-service-life dates.

I'm not so sure it's "clearly cheaper" to extend the lifespan of a vehicle that's approaching the end of it's planned service life.

tehbeard• 4 years ago

Anything mechanical for the sensors will wear out over time. And from playing quite a bit of KSP, bolting on attitude control after the fact is a hell of lot harder for any precise movements since you throw CoM off.

zeroping• 4 years ago

Boost. The term is boost, not lift. This isn't a helicopter.

I understand the term 'lift' may be more accessible for the general public, but it drives me nuts to see news outlets use it.

NASA May Let Billionaire Astronaut and SpaceX Lift Hubble Telescope

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