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Thursday, June 28, 2007 - 8:30 AM
MPS1.1

In-Space Servicing -- Hubble Space Telescope Experience and Some Future Prospects

R. V. Moe, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

HST Experience, with some prior history servicing and rescue missions and the ongoing ISS build-up, has established over the previous decades a productive operations paradigm of in-space servicing for space missions. The capabilities uniquely enabled, relative to stand-alone unserviced missions, include: science and performance upgrades, new technology insertion, degradation repair, and consumables replenishment. Some lessons learned from servicing mission planning and execution are applicable to future servicing mission planning.

 

The in-space operations paradigm is undergoing strong challenges these days. Challenges include: access to in-space sites, availability of servicing agents and equipment such as astronauts, tools, robots, robot tools, infrastructure to support astronauts or robots or both, infrastructure for replacement items and repair kits, mission design for serviceability such as access and handling, modularity, operable interfaces, and logistics concerns such as level of repair, depoting, reusability of infrastructure, life cycle cost/benefit, markets, etc.

 

Extension of the in-space servicing operations paradigm is still a topic of interest in a small community. The Future In-Space Operations (FISO) working group, in cooperation with NASA and other organizations, is studying low-impact designs for serviceability, mission architecture augmentation for capability extension, and investment strategies.


Summary: HST Experience, with some prior history servicing and rescue missions and the ongoing ISS build-up, has established over the previous decades a productive operations paradigm of in-space servicing for space missions. The capabilities uniquely enabled, relative to stand-alone unserviced missions, include: science and performance upgrades, new technology insertion, degradation repair, and consumables replenishment. Some lessons learned from servicing mission planning and execution are applicable to future servicing mission planning.