[X] My Assistant

[deglr6328]

How much cryogen does Spitzer have remaining in its dewar? Do they know, or are they just waiting to see a temperature rise after complete boil-off? Can't find much info on the website.

[nprev]

Seems like a tech demo mission above all else, and that restoring comm with Spitzer by acting as a relay spacecraft to continue 'warm' operations would really just be a bonus. No attempt would be made to load He or anything else.

[marsbug]

Actually I've been wondering about this: There articles my own algorithms have sent me have been light on details, but one quote that caught my eye:

"The ISAM implications of resurrecting Spitzer are jaw-dropping," said Shawn Usman, Astrophysicist and CEO of Rhea Space Activity. "This would be the most complex robotic mission ever performed by humanity. As a teenager in the 1990s, I watched U.S. astronauts repair the first Great Observatory, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and now Rhea Space Activity has been given the opportunity to telerobotically extend the life of the last Great Observatory, the Spitzer Space Telescope. I am humbled to have Dr. Giovanni Fazio, the Principal Investigator of Spitzer's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), as a Co-Investigator on this ambitious mission."

From here: https://phys.org/news/2023-05-nasa-resurrec...-telescope.html

It definitely confirms it won't dock or load He, but "most complex robotic mission ever attempted by humanity" doesn't sound like it's just going to loiter and at as a relay....