Hubble telescope there yet or not: NASA spoke about the state of the observatory after the accident

The Hubble Space Telescope has not observed space since November 23 as it automatically went into safe mode. This was the third time the observatory was closed in as many days. Scientists from NASA determined that the problem was caused by the operation of one of Hubble’s gyroscopes. ScienceAlert reports that the observatory is now known to be operational again, although not all instruments have been turned on yet.

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Focus I have written in detail that the Hubble telescope experienced three simultaneous automatic shutdowns, the last of which led to a complete halt of space observations a few weeks ago.

The space telescope was disrupted because one of the gyroscopes (a device that allows the observatory to observe the objects it needs) began producing incorrect data. Hubble used to have six such gyroscopes, but now only three remain, and it turns out that even these could disrupt the work of the 33-year-old observatory. In case of such accidents, the Hubble telescope always goes into safe mode.

The first gyroscopes worked for 19 years until they all failed and had to be replaced by a team of astronauts during a special mission in 2009. The three have since ceased operations, but NASA has not modernized or repaired the observatory in 14 years. And a similar gyroscope malfunction had already been observed several years ago. However, this did not cause the observatory’s work to stop completely.

Now scientists from NASA have announced that they were able to bring the Hubble telescope into working order, but this cannot yet be called a full-fledged operation. The observatory’s two main cameras have continued to observe space, but two spectrographs are still offline and NASA hopes to return them to service soon.

The shutdown of Hubble led to a change in observation programs for the Kuiper Belt (the outermost part of the Solar System), the Andromeda Galaxy and its moons, type Ia supernovae, and other important space objects.

In fact, the Hubble telescope is back in service, although it has not yet been able to make some observations. Scientists from NASA say similar problems with gyroscopes will continue to arise. This will cause disruptions at Hubble, but it is believed that the observatory should be operational until the 2030s. Even if only one working gyroscope remains, Hubble will be able to make space observations.

NASA has said there will be no new mission to maintain the telescope and that if a more serious accident occurs, the observatory could cease operations indefinitely. Even after the launch of the latest infrared Webb Space Telescope into space last year, Hubble remains the most productive observatory. So far, astronomers have made many important discoveries with its help.

33 years in orbit is a very long time, but we can only hope that the Hubble telescope will “live” for as long as possible.

As I already wrote Focusastronomers have discovered new reasons for the strange behavior of the famous giant star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion.

Moreover Focus He wrote that scientists have found the smallest brown dwarf, or failed star, that violates known theories of the origin of such objects.