JAKARTA – The Hubble Space Telescope is about to return to work, after a complex remote repair by NASA. The orbiting observatory went dark in mid-June, with all astronomical observations stopped.
NASA initially suspected 1980s-era computers as the source of the problem. But after the backup payload computer also failed, flight controllers at Maryland’s Goddard Space Flight Center focused on a larger and more extensive science instrument command and data unit, installed by astronauts walking in space in 2009.
Engineers successfully switched to spare equipment on Thursday (15/7/2021), and the computer’s critical payload began. NASA said Friday (07/16/2021) that scientific observations must resume quickly, if all goes well.
A similar change occurred in 2008 after part of the old system failed. “Congratulations to the team!” NASA’s head of science mission Thomas Zurbuchen tweeted, as quoted from Phys.org, Saturday (17/7/2021).
Launched in 1990, Hubble has made more than 1.5 million observations of the universe. NASA launched five telescope repair missions during the space shuttle program. The last tuning was done in 2009. NASA plans to launch Hubble’s successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, later this year. (E-4)
News Source: RRI.co.id.
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