NASA begins high-stakes repair of the Hubble Space Telescope

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After a month of testing, space agency engineers were unable to restart the computer – and its backup – so the Hubble team will move on to an alternative unit of power Thursday, according to a statement from NASA. If successful, it will take several days to fully return the observatory to normal operations, NASA reported.
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 payload computer – a standard NASA Spacecraft Computer-1, or NSSC-1, system – is used to control and coordinate Hubble’s science instruments. Computer programs also analyze and manipulate the data it collects.

NASA engineers believe the problem is with the power control unit, or PCU, which provides a constant voltage supply to the payload computer. The PCU is housed with the payload computer in the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling (SI C&DH) unit.

The incredible Hubble telescope suddenly stopped working

“The team’s analysis suggests that either the voltage level of the regulator is outside acceptable levels (thus triggering the secondary protection circuit), or the secondary protection circuit has degraded over time and is stuck in. this state of inhibition, “according to the NASA statement.

The telescope itself and the scientific instruments remain “sound and in a safe configuration,” the statement confirmed.

The Hubble Space Telescope, which orbits 340 miles above the Earth’s surface, hasn’t always performed flawlessly. 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 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.

But it’s premature to give up on Hubble, said Don Lincoln, senior scientist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

“Astronomers have relied on the instrument for about 30 years. It has generated scientific data leading to countless articles and also magnificent images that have fascinated the public interested in science. In that sense, an unusable Hubble would be a devastating loss, ”he wrote. in an opinion piece for CNN.

“The best case scenario is the one in which both work, and we have to wait for these smart engineers to do their magic to see if that is possible.”

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