The Hubble Space Telescope appears to float above Earth in this image taken by an Atlantis crewmember in 2009. (Credit: NASA)

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was launched into orbit on the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. Thanks to its perch above most of Earth’s turbulent atmosphere, the telescope’s relatively modest 2.4-meter mirror has given us an unprecedented window on the universe for nearly 30 years. But just how much longer will Hubble last?

Unless the telesc