• @stoy@lemmy.zip
    link
    fedilink
    English
    711 months ago

    NASA director shows up at the last shuttle pilot’s home…

    “We need you back, Doug…”

    • threelonmusketeersOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      611 months ago

      He retired only a couple years ago (after flying the Crew Dragon DEMO-2 mission), so he might be up for it! To continue this jocular train of thought a bit further, which shuttle would they refurbish? Atlantis, Discovery, or Endeavor?

      • @stoy@lemmy.zip
        link
        fedilink
        English
        611 months ago

        Atlantis obvously, it was the last shuttle to service the Hubble, and at that point it was the only one with enough oxygen for a longer stay.

  • @JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    English
    311 months ago

    I think the person who funded inspiration 2 was working with NASA to see if they could do a Hubble boost operation with a dragon spacecraft and a special adapter. I wonder if that’s gone anywhere.

    • threelonmusketeersOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      2
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      They touch on that at near the end of the article, but there aren’t really any updates:

      Last year, SpaceX and NASA announced a feasibility study to determine whether it might be possible for a Dragon spacecraft to link up with Hubble and reboost the observatory, extending its orbital lifetime. This six-month study, which was concluded earlier this year, was also expected to look at ways for astronauts on the Dragon capsule to potentially service Hubble. If a servicing mission is deemed possible, swapping out gyros would surely be at the top of NASA’s priority list.

      NASA and SpaceX have not released the results of the feasibility study.

      I think they’re planning on testing Dragon EVA capabilities on the Polaris Dawn mission early next year. If that goes well, Polaris 2 could be the Hubble servicing mission. Polaris 3 is slated to be the first crewed flight of Starship.