NASA's Hubble completes first scientific operation after a three-week break

WASHINGTON: NASA's Hubble Space Telescope returned to normal operations and completed its first scientific observations after a three-week interruption due to a failed gyroscope.

The observations concerned the distant galaxy forming stars and were taken in infrared wavelengths with the Wide Field Camera 3 instrument.

The return to science comes after the successful recovery of a backup gyroscope, or gyroscope, that had replaced a failed gyroscope three weeks earlier, NASA announced in a statement Sunday.

A gyroscope is a device that measures the speed of rotation of the spacecraft, which is necessary to help Hubble to turn and lock on new targets.

One of Hubble's gyroscopes failed on Oct. 5, and the spacecraft operations team activated an emergency gyroscope the next day.

However, the backup incorrectly referred to turnover rates well above the actual rates.

Hubble is now back in its normal scientific operations mode with three fully functional gyroscopes.

Originally, Hubble was to be at the forefront of scientific discoveries for more than 28 years, NASA said.

"The team hopes that the telescope will continue to make huge discoveries until the next decade, allowing it to operate alongside the James Webb Space Telescope," the agency added.