The Chandra X-ray observatory is back online after a failure

NASA's Chandra X-ray observatory will soon be observing the cosmos, the US Space Agency announced Monday. A fear of last week left the spaceship in safe mode. Chandra is a space observatory that observes extreme objects emitting X-rays, such as black holes. The problems with Chandra surfaced on October 10, just days after the iconic Hubble Space Telescope also went into safe mode due to problems with its gyroscopes, which point the spacecraft. Together, they represent half of NASA's "Great Observatories" program.

Safe mode

In safe mode, Chandra's instruments move in a secure configuration, where the important material is protected, the spacecraft is oriented so that its solar panels receive the optimal amount of sunlight and the Mirrors of the craft are away from the sun. According to an official statement from NASA, Chandra went into safe mode in a manner consistent with "normal" or expected behavior.

The space agency did not announce why Chandra went into safe mode, but all the systems onboard the ship have worked successfully during the transition and all of Chandra's instruments are safe and unscathed. NASA said last week that she was still investigating the reason for this sudden change.

"Chandra is 19 years old, far exceeding the expected life of 5 years," said NASA. "In 2001, NASA extended its life span by 10 years. He is now well on his extended mission. "

The space agency adds that Chandra "should continue to conduct advanced scientific research for many years".

Trouble with Hubble

As this investigation progresses, "NASA continues to work on the resumption of the Hubble Space Telescope's scientific operations after the spacecraft has entered safe mode due to a failed (gyro) gyro on Friday, October 5", according to an official statement from NASA.

Earlier this month, the Hubble Space Telescope went from four operating gyroscopes to just two fully functional gyroscopes. While the telescope can operate with two or even one gyroscope (gyroscopes keep the telescope pointed in the same direction for long periods), Hubble works best with at least three gyroscopes.

Following this gyroscope failure, the Hubble Operations team activated a backup gyroscope. Unfortunately, the emergency gyroscope did not work properly. Since then, the team has been testing the emergency gyroscope, which continues to report false rotational rates that are too high. This emergency gyroscope is also unable to signal Hubble's small movements.

An anomaly review committee has been formed to find the cause of these problems and attempt to resolve them.

The Kepler Space Telescope, which is running out of fuel and nearing the end of its mission, started the month in safe mode. Astronomers have since begun saving the spacecraft and are striving to download its latest data before it runs out of power.