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NASA's Hubble Space Telescope resumed normal operations on Friday, October 26, and made its first scientific observations on Saturday October 27 at 2:10 EDT. The observations concerned the star – shaped DSF2237B – 1 – IR distant galaxy and were taken in infrared wavelengths with the Wide Field Camera 3 instrument. The return to science comes after the recovery. successful rescue gyroscope, or gyroscope, which had replaced a failed gyro three weeks earlier.
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 a spare gyroscope the next day. However, the backup incorrectly referred to turnover rates well above the actual rates.
Last week, the operations team asked Hubble to perform many maneuvers and turns and switch the gyroscope between different modes of operation. Then the team monitored and tested the gyroscope with additional maneuvers to ensure stability. The team then installed additional guardrails on the spacecraft in the event that excessive rate values were reinstated, although this was not anticipated.
On Thursday, the operations team performed other maneuvers to collect gyro calibration data. On Friday, Hubble performed activities similar to scientific observations, including rotating to point to different places in the sky and locking targets. The team performed all these activities without problem.
Late Friday, the team began the process of restoration of scientific instruments in the state of standard operation. Hubble completed the maneuvers to reach the first scientific observations and the telescope collected its first scientific data since October 5th.
Hubble is now back in its normal scientific operations mode with three fully functional gyroscopes. Originally held for 15 years, Hubble has been at the forefront of scientific discovery for more than 28 years. 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.
Hubble is managed and operated at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
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Hubble is getting closer to normal scientific operations
Washington DC (SPX) October 23, 2018
Last week, NASA made considerable efforts to commission a Hubble Space Telescope's gyro (gyro), which incorrectly referred to extremely high rotational rates. The emergency gyroscope was activated after the satellite entered safe mode due to a failed gyroscope on Friday, October 5th. The rotation speeds produced by the emergency gyro have been reduced and are now within the expected range. Additional testing will be done to ensure that Hubble can return to scientific operations with this gyroscope.
A gyroscope is a device … read more
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