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• Jeff Foust
NASA is seeking ideas for commercial missions to reboost or service the Hubble Space Telescope, reviving an effort more than two years after it rejected similar concepts. The agency’s renewed solicitation puts private providers back in consideration for extending the observatory’s operational life.
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NASA is seeking ideas for commercial missions to reboost or service the Hubble Space Telescope, reviving an effort more than two years after it rejected similar concepts. The agency’s renewed solicitation puts private providers back in consideration for extending the observatory’s operational life.
NASA issued a Request for Information on Oct. 29 to assess industry capabilities for in-space servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. The inquiry signals an exploration of commercial options, but the available information does not specify a mission, procurement timeline or selected provider.
NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detected a gamma-ray burst in March 2026 with an unusual light signature: initially faint gamma radiation followed by delayed, atypical peaks in its afterglow. The event’s apparent dimness was misleading, underscoring the importance of tracking how transient signals evolve over time.
NASA’s Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) flew for the first time on Oct. 30, 1964, as a test platform for developing the techniques Apollo astronauts would need to land on the moon. Its first flight marked an early step in preparing crews for the final, low-altitude phase of lunar descent.
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NASA’s X-59 QueSST has begun its first major cross-country transfer, flying from Edwards Air Force Base toward Florida with stops reported in Texas and Alabama. The trip comes a year after the quiet supersonic demonstrator’s first flight, following a battery of tests by NASA pilots.
United Launch Alliance has secured a major NASA contract as its Vulcan rocket approaches a return to flight. The developments put the launch provider’s government work and the status of its next-generation vehicle in focus, though the available reports do not specify the contract’s value or Vulcan’s return date.
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NASA officials say the SR-1 nuclear electric propulsion mission is still expected to launch in late 2028. The agency has provided limited detail on the mission’s cost and schedule, leaving key program parameters unclear despite the stated launch outlook.
On Oct. 29, 1991, Galileo passed asteroid Gaspra and took images while traveling at about 18,000 mph. The encounter added an asteroid observation to the spacecraft’s journey to Jupiter, demonstrating how a planetary mission could gather science during its cruise through the solar system.
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