Hubble is once again working to ‘further our understanding of the universe’

By Georgina Torbet Published April 28, 2022

The Veil Nebula and its delicate threads and filaments of ionized gas. — This image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope revisits the Veil Nebula, which was featured in a previous Hubble image release. In this image, new processing techniques have been applied, bringing out fine details of the nebula’s delicate threads and filaments of ionized gas. ESA/Hubble & NASA, Z. Levay

After switching to backup hardware, the Hubble Space Telescope is back up and running following a computer error last month. NASA technicians were able to identify the source of the error and switch over to backup versions of two key units on July 16, and following checks and calibrations, the telescope resumed its science operations on July 17.

“Hubble is an icon, giving us incredible insight into the cosmos over the past three decades,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “I’m proud of the Hubble team, from current members to Hubble alumni who stepped in to lend their support and expertise. Thanks to their dedication and thoughtful work, Hubble will continue to build on its 31-year legacy, broadening our horizons with its view of the universe.”

Recommended Videos

Hubble’s issues began when its science instruments switched into safe mode on June 13. This happens automatically when there is a problem with the hardware or software, with the instruments stopping data collection and switching into a protective mode to ensure any issues do not damage them.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The switch to safe mode was triggered by an issue with the payload computer, which controls the science instruments. After several weeks of testing, technicians on the ground were able to identify the source of the fault as the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling (SI C&DH) unit and its power system, the Power Control Unit (PCU).

To fix the error, the technicians switched from the main hardware for these two units to backup hardware. Most systems on Hubble have a backup version in case there’s an issue. But switching to the backup requires powering down other components too, so before this could be done, the technicians had to run tests and simulations.

The switch to backup hardware was performed this week and completed on Friday. By Saturday, checks and calibrations had been completed, and Hubble resumed collecting science data on Saturday afternoon.

NASA also confirmed that Hubble is back up and running on the official Hubble Twitter account, saying that “science data is once again being collected to further our understanding of the universe.”

Topics

Georgina Torbet

Space Writer

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

Space

Watch Sierra Space destroy its inflatable space station — again

Sierra Space's LIFE facility as it explodes in a pressure test.

Witnessing an explosion involving a carefully constructed piece of space kit doesn’t seem like a good thing, but engineers at Sierra Space was entirely happy to see the LIFE (Large Integrated Flexible Environment) habitat torn apart in a recent burst pressure test because it helped them learn more about its capabilities.

A video (below) shows the habitat explode when it can no longer handle the huge forces acting upon it.

Space

Hubble finds mysterious and elusive black hole

An international team of astronomers has used more than 500 images from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope spanning two decades to detect seven fast-moving stars in the innermost region of Omega Centauri, the largest and brightest globular cluster in the sky. These stars provide compelling new evidence for the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole.

An international team of astronomers has used more than 500 images from the NASA/European Space Agency (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope spanning two decades to detect seven fast-moving stars in the innermost region of Omega Centauri, the largest and brightest globular cluster in the sky. These stars provide compelling new evidence of the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole. ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Häberle (MPIA)

There's something strange about black holes. Astronomers often find small black holes, which are between five times and 100 times the mass of the sun. And they often find huge supermassive black holes, which are hundreds of thousands of times the mass of the sun or even larger. But they almost never find black holes in between those two sizes.

Space

Hubble takes first image since switching to new pointing mode

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope features the galaxy NGC 1546.

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of the galaxy NGC 1546. NASA, ESA, STScI, David Thilker (JHU)

The Hubble Space Telescope has been through some troubles of late, and the way that it operates had to be changed recently to compensate for some degraded hardware. The telescope's three gyros, which help it to switch between different targets in the sky, have been experiencing issues, with one in particular frequently failing over recent months. NASA made the decision recently to change the way that Hubble points, and it now uses just one gyro at a time instead of all three in order to preserve the two remaining gyros for as long as possible.

nproxy.org