Salvaging Hubble – New Scientist

The illustrious Hubble Space Telescope will eventually re-enter Earths atmosphere and be destroyed or so I understand. Could it be returned to Earth safely and put in a museum? If so, what would be the cheapest way to do it?

(Continued)

Our apologies to Sam Palasciano whose earlier submission to this question on 3 June contained an error introduced by us Ed

Hubbles primary mirror weighs roughly 1800 pounds or 800 kilograms, not 450 as the article stated. This could be significant if someone wanted to seriously pursue this question.

However, I would much rather someone came up with a way of extending the life of the Hubble telescope in orbit. The replacement Webb Telescope, as I understand it, operates at different wavelengths. Hubble was designed to have a more useful operating window, including both ultraviolet and infrared, an advantage that will be lost when it is closed down.

Sam Palasciano, Oceanside, California, US

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Salvaging Hubble - New Scientist