Hubble’s Hiccup: Gyro Issue Causes NASA To Suspend Telescope Operations

Hubble Space Telescope Over Earth

NASA is diligently working to restore the Hubble Space Telescope’s science operations after it entered safe mode on November 23, due to a malfunctioning gyroscope. (3D animation showing the Hubble Space Telescope over the Earth.) Credit: ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & L. L. Christensen)

NASA is troubleshooting Hubble’s gyro issue to resume its science operations, ensuring its continued astronomical discoveries alongside telescopes like the James Webb.

NASA is working to resume science operations of the agency’s Hubble Space Telescope after it entered safe mode on November 23 due to an ongoing gyroscope (gyro) issue. Hubble’s instruments are stable, and the telescope is in good health.

The telescope automatically entered safe mode when one of its three gyroscopes gave faulty readings. The gyros measure the telescope’s turn rates and are part of the system that determines which direction the telescope is pointed. While in safe mode, science operations are suspended, and the telescope waits for new directions from the ground.

Hubble Space Telescope in Orbit

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched by the space shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990. Avoiding distortions of the atmosphere, Hubble has an unobstructed view peering to planets, stars, and galaxies, some more than 13.4 billion light-years away. Credit: NASA

Recent Challenges and Recovery Efforts

Hubble first entered safe mode on November 19. Although the operations team successfully recovered the spacecraft to resume observations the following day, the unstable gyro caused the observatory to suspend science operations once again on November 21. Following a successful recovery, Hubble entered safe mode again on November 23.

The team is now running tests to characterize the issue and develop solutions. If necessary, the spacecraft can be re-configured to operate with only one gyro. The spacecraft had six new gyros installed during the fifth and final space shuttle servicing mission in 2009. To date, three of those gyros remain operational, including the gyro currently experiencing fluctuations. Hubble uses three gyros to maximize efficiency, but could continue to make science observations with only one gyro if required.

Hubble’s Ongoing Legacy and Future Prospects

NASA anticipates Hubble will continue making groundbreaking discoveries, working with other observatories, such as the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope, throughout this decade and possibly into the next.

Launched in 1990, Hubble has been observing the universe for more than 33 years. Read more about some of Hubble’s greatest scientific discoveries.

3 Comments on "Hubble’s Hiccup: Gyro Issue Causes NASA To Suspend Telescope Operations"

  1. dr mehrdad kesiri | December 1, 2023 at 11:41 pm | Reply

    I am the prophet of God, but I didn’t want to be a prophet, but God wants me to lead the Muslims of the earth to put aside the disturbing religions, this is very difficult and takes time, that is, it takes time, America and England should not bother the people of the countries and those who They are trying not to dominate the countries of the region with Islam, the clerics of Iran are forbidden, God is not satisfied with America and England, America and England should not only work for the interests of the people of the country of Kharkhan, and they should not dominate the Middle Eastern countries by religious authorities, those who are in Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon and Palestine are riding on the neck of the people, they are ruling over the people and there is no freedom in religious regimes like the religion of Islam. Islam is the worst nonsense religion in the world. Religions are bothering the people. They became Muslims and through the religion of Islam, there are some religious people who rule in countries that I mentioned that I am chosen by God, all human beings are chosen by themselves, but this issue is very complicated. I and my Gods ask the great powers of the world not to consider only the interests of their own country and change the religious governments in the countries that mentioned God, it is possible in the short term. He will not be able to take revenge on the politicians of England, America, the Soviet Union, and Israel because they put religious governments in the countries I mentioned, but God will take revenge on the politicians of the great powers, but this issue will take time.

  2. dr mehrdad kesiri | December 2, 2023 at 3:03 am | Reply

    Hello There are several reasons that prove that the stars and planets of the arm of the galaxy have collided with solar bodies.The hydrogen gas in the planets was a gas from the stars that collided with Neptune, Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter.Sun?Venus and Mercury.In the past, several planets coming from the big arm of the galaxy hit Venus towards the Sun, and some planets also hit Mercury, causing Mercury and Venus to rotate much slower than Earth, but their speed did not decrease during this time..current!?Shouldn’t the planets that are close to the sun go around the sun faster due to the strong gravitational force of the sun?Venus and Mercury orbit the Sun faster than Earth and Mars, but they orbit more slowly than Earth.Mercury orbits the Sun at a speed of 172,000 km/h, but in the collision of a heavy object with Mercury, the speed of Mercury around the Sun does not decrease, but due to many collisions between planets, the speed of Mercury’s rotation decreases.Between moving bodies, when there is more mass and weight, stronger magnetic currents are scattered around, from the Sun every second, trillions of trillions of electromagnetic gamma waves hit the surface of the planet, causing the planet to spin while which planets are closer tothe sun.The magnetic field and exposure to stronger and stronger waves is why Mercury orbits the Sun faster than Earth.And Mars, but it rotates more slowly.Why does Mercury last 58 days?It revolves around itself, but a full day on Earth lasts 24 hours, but a full day on Mercury lasts 1393 hours, because several planets collided with Mercury.Although Jupiter is farthest from the Sun and is 778 million kilometers away from the Sun, why does it orbit in less than 24 hours?what’s the reason?A day and night lasts nine and a half hours in Jupiter 9.5, because the stars collided with Jupiter, but they collided with Mercury and Venus, very small planets.Is this planet decelerating or reversing?The story of a star and a planet is like two gears that turn but overlap but oppose each other.The greater the force that rotates one of the gears, the same rotational force will be transferred to the opposite gear in case of collision of the star.To the planet, when a star collides with the planet’s surface, the gear problem transfers all of the star’s rotational force to the planet’s surface.At least a dozen stars hundreds of times smaller than the Sun hit Jupiter’s surface, causing it to spin at 45,000 km/h.There are several reasons that prove that the stars and planets of the arm of the galaxy have collided with solar bodies.The hydrogen gas in the planets was a gas from the stars that collided with Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter dr kesiri in tehrdad shmiranat

  3. dr mehrdad kesiri | December 2, 2023 at 3:19 am | Reply

    If the stars of the arm of the galaxy had not hit Jupiter, Jupiter would now rotate one hundred percent slower than the Earth, in the order that the planets that are farthest from their stars rotate slower than the planets that are close to the star,Mars is slower than the Earth due to being far from the Sun.The planet slows down around itself and the rotation of that planet around the star in the orbit around the star also slows down.If there is more to a planet like Venus, that planet will reverse.Several hundred planets collided with Venus.Now Venus takes 243 days to revolve around itself.The sun rises from the west of Venus.It sets from the east of Venus.At least hundreds of stars and planets go towards The objects of the solar system came, most of the stars collided with Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter and the Sun, that’s why there is hydrogen gas in Jupiter, the planets also joined the moons ofJupiter and other gas planets, because the stars of the two big arms of the galaxy are a hundred times smaller than the Sun, they came close to the Sun if the stars The arm of the galaxy was one tenth of the sun because of the electricpower and strong magnetic fields that the stars have.If they were one tenth of the sun, those stars would not come close to the sun and would pass by the distance of tens of trillions of kilometers from the sun, but those stars that collided with the gas giant planets were a hundred times The sunwas smaller, that’s why they came close to the sun and collided with Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter.This issue that I raised is a strong reason that proves what I raised, with the many reasons that I brought, you must accept that I predicted correctly.In the surahs that God inspired and revealed to me, I realized that the earth had a civilization, that those who had a shape similar to us had millions of years of civilization and history that were able to create the great God through my science of physicsand chemistry more than forty times in I saw the heavens in different forms of God.Describing this issue is not so simple and the elders of the world’s religions should be invited to explain with my coordination in the media of the world.Dr. Astronomy and Religions Kesiri in Iran thank you no .. r mobil 00989332197646

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