Hubble Space Telescope working again after more than a month offline

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“Hubble is an icon, giving us incredible insight into the cosmos over the past three decades,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.

“I am proud of the Hubble team, from current members to Hubble alumni who have stepped in to provide support and expertise,” said Nelson. “Through their dedication and thoughtful work, Hubble will continue to build on its 31-year heritage, expanding our horizons with its vision of the universe.”

The Hubble Telescope has shaped our understanding of the cosmos for over 30 years. He discovered moons orbiting Pluto, and he proved that almost all galaxies have a supermassive black hole at their core. He also played a central role in the discovery of dark matter, a mysterious substance that cannot be seen.

The telescope was scheduled to resume data collection on Saturday for the first time since the telescope’s payload computer encountered a problem on June 13.

The payload computer – a standard NASA Spacecraft Computer-1 system, or NSSC-1 – is used to control and coordinate Hubble’s science instruments. Computer programs also analyze and manipulate the data it collects.

NASA engineers discovered that the problem was with the power control unit, which provides a a constant voltage supply to the payload computer, and switched to a backup PCU.

The PCU is housed with the payload computer in the control and data processing unit of the scientific instrument.

The Hubble Space Telescope hasn’t always worked perfectly. A similar repair was carried out in 2008, according to NASA, when another part of the SI C&DH unit failed. A maintenance mission in 2009 then replaced the entire SI C&DH unit.

The space shuttle has been sent five times to serve Hubble. However, the 2009 mission was the most recent – and since the shuttle’s retirement, NASA has no way of launching astronauts to the space telescope for a repair mission.
There is a potential replacement for Hubble in the works. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is expected to launch later this year. Great, infrared telescope looks set to become the next great sleuth in the universe.

NASA said Hubble will last for many more years and will work in tandem with other space observatories, including the James Webb Space Telescope.

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