NASA is considering sending the SpaceX Crew Dragon to restart the Hubble telescope, extending its life

The Hubble Space Telescope, a true warrior of science, has spent more than 30 years in orbit studying the mysteries of the universe, and NASA would like to extend his life as long as possible. It may be a long shot, but Elon Musk’s SpaceX could potentially step in to give Hubble a hand.

NASA, SpaceX and Jared Isaacman, a private astronaut with Polaris programhosted a media teleconference Thursday to announce a feasibility study that would look at sending a commercial Dragon spacecraft to reaccelerate Hubble, putting the telescope into a higher and more stable orbit than it currently is.

The study will be free to the government. “There are no plans for NASA to conduct or fund a servicing mission or compete with this opportunity; the study is designed to help the agency understand commercial opportunities,” NASA said in a statement.

The study is expected to take up to six months and will focus on whether it would be technically possible for Crew Dragon to “safely rendezvous, dock and move the telescope into a more stable orbit.” No one on the teleconference was ready to lay out detailed plans for what the Hubble restart mission might look like and whether it would even require a crew on board. Isaacman’s involvement suggests SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission could be included if the plan moves toward implementation.

Hubble’s orbit is slowly decreasing over time. According to Hubble project manager Patrick Krause, the observatory has fallen about 19 miles (30 kilometers) since its last servicing mission in 2009 and has an approximately 50 percent chance of re-entering Earth’s atmosphere in 2037 if no action is taken nothing. NASA already hopes to keep Hubble operational through the end of this decade, but boosting it could add years to its life.

NASA officials emphasized that Hubble is healthy and continuing its science operations. The telescope has experienced a lot of weathering technical errors over the years and has been the subject of five different servicing missions using NASA’s now-retired space shuttle fleet.

NASA is working to build partnerships with commercial space providers. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsules are already transporting astronauts to the International Space Station. This study hints at broader possibilities. “While Hubble and Dragon will serve as test models for this research,” NASA said, “parts of the mission concept may be applicable to other spacecraft, particularly those in near-Earth orbit like Hubble.”