NASA Hubble Space Telescope in Orbit
The NASA Hubble Space Telescope should not be silent for too long. On October 5, he had to be sent to safe mode, after one of the orientation-supporting gyroscopes encountered problems. Team members attempted to use a backup gyroscope, but this tool is still returning anomalous data.
Hubble researchers convened an “anomaly review commission” to investigate the telescope's behavior and determine whether it can be fixed somehow. The telescope has 6 gyroscopes, each of which was replaced by astronauts in 2009. For maximum efficiency, it is necessary that three of them remain functioning. Three had already broken, so it is important to restore this gyroscope.
If the repair goes well, Hubble will continue to work with three gyroscopes. If not, the ship will be configured for operations with a single gyroscope, which will continue to receive data in the 2020s. in collaboration with the future space telescope of James Webb. Operations with one gyroscope will leave the second as a backup. Hubble launched into Earth orbit in April 1990 aboard the Discovery spacecraft. However, the original photos were not as clear as expected. Later found out that the problem is in a small defect in the main mirror. It was decided in December 1993, when the astronauts installed a correction optics. The team continued to maintain and upgrade Hubble for 4 additional missions. The latter fell on May 2009, when they replaced the gyroscopes.
Hubble was created to collect data for 15 years, so scientists are pleased that the telescope continues to work in orbit as many as 28! He helped astronomers to make many innovative discoveries and got a huge number of amazing photos that hit millions of people around the world. Hubble is a joint mission of NASA and ESA.
