The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy in Washington will continue to provide science operational support for the Hubble Space Telescope through June 30, 2026 under a potential $215 million contract extension with NASA.
NASA said Tuesday the latest award allows AURA to continue supporting the operations of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore and brings the existing contract’s value to approximately $2.4 billion.
The sole-source contract extension includes science ground system development, products and services needed to implement science system engineering, science operations, data archive support for mission data within the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes and science research awards management and public outreach support.
NASA said Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys has resumed operations nearly two weeks after the telescope suspended taking science observations due to missed synchronization messages, an issue that is being investigated by a spacecraft team at Goddard Space Flight Center. The telescope’s other instruments have remained in safe mode.
“Mission specialists are working hard to figure out how to bring the other instruments back to full operation,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s science mission directorate. “We expect the spacecraft to have many more years of science ahead, and to work in tandem with the James Webb Space Telescope, launching later this year.”
The Webb telescope is set to launch from French Guiana on Dec. 18.
