Tag: Hubble

NASA Says Hubble Telescope Will Resume Operation Following Gyroscope Issue

SPACE reports that following a “string of setbacks concerning one of its directional instruments, the Hubble Space Telescope will get back to its job of capturing deep space images soon enough, NASA says.” It all “began on Nov. 19, when one of the iconic observatory’s three gyroscopes (a trio that live on from an original set of six) began providing faulty readings.” In general, gyroscopes “are devices that use either circulating beams of light or rapidly spinning wheels to help scientists make sure an object is facing the direction they want it to face.” Incorrect gyroscope readings “on the Hubble Telescope, as you might imagine, can therefore drastically affect science measurements.” To image a specific spot “in deep space with this Earth-orbiting telescope, you’d have to make sure it’s actually facing that spot in deep space.”
Full Story (SPACE)

NASA Working to Resolve Hubble Space Telescope Gyroscope Issue

SPACE reports NASA on Wednesday confirmed that the Hubble Space Telescope “automatically entered safe mode on Nov. 23.” The reason behind the interruption “lies with issues concerning one of the observatory’s gyroscopes.” Mission scientists said “that they’re working to resolve the issue and bring Hubble back on again.”
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Study: Hubble Telescope Images Increasingly Spoiled by Commercial Satellites

The New York Times reports a study published Thursday by the journal Nature Astronomy “reveals an increase in the percentage of images recorded by the Hubble that are spoiled by passing satellites” as of data through 2021. Thousands more satellites “have been launched since then by SpaceX and other companies, and many more are expected to go to orbit in the years ahead, affecting the Hubble and potentially other telescopes in space.” Their results show “that the chance of seeing a satellite in a Hubble image from 2009 to 2020 is only 3.7 percent,” rising to 5.9 percent in 2021, which the researchers say corresponds to SpaceX’s Starlink satellites.
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription publication)

Hubble Space Telescope Enters Safe Mode Due to Onboard Software Error

SPACE reports that NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope “went into a protective ‘safe mode’ early Sunday morning (March 7), but its handlers seem confident it will bounce back in relatively short order.” Hubble team members said on NASA’s Twitter account Sunday, “At ~4:00 a.m. EST [0900 GMT] on Sunday, the Hubble Space Telescope went into safe mode due to an onboard software error. All science systems appear normal and Hubble is safe and stable.”
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NASA Says Recent Hubble Issues Likely Due to Aging Hardware

Spaceflight Now reports that NASA Astrophysics division director Paul Hertz said that the two issues the Hubble Space Telescope recently experienced are likely related to aging hardware. The Hubble Space Telescope is approaching the 31st anniversary of its launch. It went into safe mode on March 7 because of a software issue. Efforts to recover the telescope showed two other problems, including an aperture door glitch and a voltage alarm on the Wide Field Camera 3.
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Returns to Science Mode

Space News reported that NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope “resumed observations March 11 after a software error placed it in a protective safe mode several days earlier.” The “software error was traced to what an agency statement called an ‘enhancement’ recently uploaded to the spacecraft. That enhancement was intended to compensate for fluctuations from one of the telescope’s gyroscopes, but a glitch in the software caused a broader problem with Hubble’s main computer, triggering the safe mode early March 7.” Controllers “resolved the problem for now by disabling that software enhancement, and plan to correct the flaw and test the new software further before uploading it again.”
Full Story (Space News)

NASA Shares Side-by-Side Views of Spectacular Star Clusters Captured by Webb and Hubble

Ars Technica reports, “NASA has shared side-by-side views of these clusters taken in visible light by the Hubble Space Telescope and in infrared light by the James Webb Space Telescope. Hubble’s image captures the glowing, ionized gas as stellar radiation produces what look like bubbles in the clouds of gas and dust, whereas Webb highlights the clumps and delicate filamentary structures of dust.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)