Private company proposes mission to revive retired space telescopes.

Rhea Space Activity, a small space technology company, has won a $250,000 grant from the US Space Force to study a robotic rescue mission for NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which was deactivated in January 2020. The "Spitzer Resurrector" mission would be a small spacecraft that could fit into a 1-meter-by-1-meter box and be ready to launch as soon as 2026. The spacecraft would fly around the telescope to characterize its health, establish communications, and relay information back and forth between the ground and telescope, allowing scientists to restart observations. Rhea Space Activity is seeking full funding for a mission expected to cost about $350 million.