In the December 2009 issue of Astronomy, you explained why we couldn’t bring the Hubble Space Telescope back to Earth. But can we attach it to the International Space Station?

The Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA

The International Space Station (ISS) has pollutants that could damage the Hubble Space Telescope’s mirror if it were docked to the ISS. Even if this weren’t a concern, getting Hubble from one place to another requires a lot more energy than you might imagine. It’s doable in terms of orbital mechanics, but it’s risky and expensive.