In this handout from NASA, the Hubble Space Telescope is grappled to Area Shuttle bus Atlantis STS-125 by the shuttles Canadian-built remote manipulator system May 13, 2009 in Area.
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In this handout from NASA, the Hubble Space Telescope is grappled to Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-125 by the shuttle buss Canadian-built remote manipulator system May 13, 2009 in Space.
NASA/Getty Images
The storied space telescope that brought you sensational images of the solar system and enriched our understanding of the cosmos over the past 3 decades is experiencing a technical glitch. Scientists at NASA state the Hubble Space Telescopes payload computer, which runs the spacecrafts scientific instruments, went down all of a sudden on June 13. Scientists have actually run a series of tests on the malfunctioning computer system but have yet to figure out what went incorrect.
The telescope can still operate without the computer system The instruments that the payload computer runs– such as the Advanced Camera for Surveys that captures images of area and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph which measures distant sources of ultraviolet light– are presently in “safe mode” and not operating.
“Theyre extremely primitive computers compared to what remains in your cellular phone,” he said, “but the problem is we cant touch it or see it.” The majority of Hubbles components have redundant back-ups, so as soon as researchers figure out the particular element thats causing the computer issue, they can remotely switch to its back-up part. “The guideline of thumb is when something is working you dont change it,” Hertz stated. “We d like to alter as couple of things as possible when we bring Hubble back into service.” The telescope can still operate without the computer The instruments that the payload computer system runs– such as the Advanced Camera for Surveys that captures pictures of area and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph which determines distant sources of ultraviolet light– are presently in “safe mode” and not operating.
Researchers at NASA say the Hubble Space Telescopes payload computer, which runs the spacecrafts scientific instruments, went down suddenly on June 13. Hertz said the present assumption, though unproven, was that the technical issue was a “random parts failure” somewhere on the computer system, which was developed in the 1980s and launched into space in 1990.
“The reason we do that is so that the telescope keeps changing its orientation relative to the sun in the method that we had actually planned, and that keeps the thermal stability of the telescope, keeps it at the right temperature,” Hertz said. Hertz stated that since Hubble was developed to be serviced by the space shuttle bus and the space shuttle bus fleet has actually given that been retired, there are no future plans to service the outer area observatory.
NASA has actually been checking various theories At very first NASA scientists questioned if a “degrading memory module” on Hubble was to blame. Then on Tuesday the firm stated it was examining whether the computers Central Processing Module (CPM) or its Standard Interface (STINT) hardware, which assists the CPM communicate with other elements, caused the issue. Hertz said the present presumption, though unverified, was that the technical concern was a “random parts failure” someplace on the computer system, which was developed in the 1980s and launched into space in 1990.
Hertz stated that because Hubble was developed to be serviced by the area shuttle and the space shuttle bus fleet has actually because been retired, there are no future strategies to service the external space observatory.
