Space

Jared Isaacman, a private astronaut who has orbited Earth in a SpaceX capsule, basically has said he'd foot the bill to take a maintenance crew to Hubble if NASA would greenlight such a mission, potentially saving the space agency hundreds of millions of dollars.

The first demonstration of a private spacewalk could come within weeks, as part of a series of SpaceX flights that Isaacman is sponsoring called the Polaris Program, which aims to "rapidly advance human spaceflight capabilities."

Isaacman appears to have shared that view: In one interview, he said new hardware could essentially be built into the same mechanism that docks with Hubble, and that "we're talking about potentially just plugging in a couple cables here" to hook it up to data and power.

He says the space station is set up with equipment to help visiting spacecraft assess the exact distance to the outpost and how fast the incoming vehicle is closing in — allowing for a smooth connection rather than a miss, or worse, a collision — but Hubble doesn't have all that.

Once the butt of jokes because of its flawed mirror, it became a scientific triumph, producing thrilling images like the "Pillars of Creation," an iconic picture showing dense clouds of dust and gas where new stars are forming.

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