NASA is gathering commercial options for Hubble’s remaining lifetime rather than announcing an approved servicing flight. Its October 30 account describes a request for information issued the previous day covering ways to raise the telescope’s orbit, improve its capabilities or manage its eventual disposal.

The request remains open until November 30 at 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It asks industry about potential capabilities; it does not establish that a contractor has been selected, a mission funded or a launch scheduled.

Hubble has no propulsion system to maintain its orbit against atmospheric drag. NASA’s analysis places likely atmospheric re-entry in the 2033–34 period and indicates that a supporting mission would need to occur by 2032. Those dates remain planning estimates, not a confirmed end to observations.

The agency is considering continued science and end-of-mission safety together. Raising the orbit, servicing instruments and arranging controlled re-entry are different possibilities with different objectives. The information-gathering stage will help assess what industry could provide before any operational commitment is made.