[Lauretij2]

Time to build another one. It's not like the technology is lost. They use the same stuff for the Keyhole spy sats they put up every few years.

Replace it and deorbit this one.

[RadioAstronomer]

Replace it and deorbit this one.

Not a chance. With the new instruments slated to fly on the next servicing mission, not servicing this telescope would be a great loss to science.

[tanknetter]

Time to build another one. It's not like the technology is lost. They use the same stuff for the Keyhole spy sats they put up every few years.

A little secret of the HST program is that NASA has enough spare parts on hand (NASA's real motto is why buy one if you can buy two at twice the price?) to build another Hubble very quickly and at minimal cost.

The flight-rate engineering backup "chassis" is on display at NASM in DC. In fact, prior to previous repair missions the servicing astronauts would come up and go over the thing using a cherry-picker. Apparently since it's an exact duplicate of what's up in orbit now, it's more accurate than what NASA has in the tank down at Johnson.