“With new launch companies providing unprecedented access to space, we need to research and develop new ways of monitoring space objects from small spacecraft to prevent collisions and to maintain space sustainability for the entire planet. This is a challenge of global scale, requiring international collaboration between industry and academia,” says Philip Ferguson, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and lead of UM’s Space Technology and Advanced Research Laboratory (STARLab).

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“The world’s most brilliant astronomers do miracles with this observatory,” said David Leckrone, the former Hubble Senior Project Scientist. “My jaw keeps dropping lower and lower with each new discovery.”

But it’s now nearing the end of its life.

The telescope’s orbit is slowly decaying and without help, it could burn up in the atmosphere.

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