The illustration shows NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. On October 12, 2018, the agency reported that on October 10, the telescope automatically switched to safe mode, possibly due to a gyroscope problem.
The problems touched another NASA telescope. A little less than a week ago, the Hubble Space Telescope suspended its operation. On October 12, NASA stated that the same thing happened with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which automatically went into safe mode on October 10. It is believed that the cause may also be in the gyroscope.
Both orbital observatories are old and work in long-extended missions: Hubble - 28, and Chandra - 19. Flight controllers are engaged in the resumption of the operability of both. NASA says it's just a coincidence. And some even joke: “Chandra found out that Hubble took a break and decided to rest.” Launched by space shuttles in the 1990s. Hubble and Chandra belong to NASA's “Large Observatories” series. There was also the ship Compton, sent in the 1990s, but failed and collapsed. In 2003 they launched the Spitzer telescope, which continues to work until now. Each telescope observes space at different wavelengths.
