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View all search resultsNASA reports trouble with Hubble Space Telescope
The problem is a payload computer that stopped working last Sunday, the US space agency said.
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In this May 14, 2009 image taken from NASA video, astronaut John Grunsfeld (left) makes a repair during the first space walk to repair the Hubble space telescope. The two astronauts from the US space shuttle Atlantis Thursday began the first of five ambitious spacewalks to overhaul the Hubble and extend its working life. The spacewalk by astronauts John Grunsfeld and Drew Feustel got under way at 1252 GMT and was scheduled to last for six to seven hours. Grunsfeld and Feustel will also replace the telescope's failing science computer. The Science Instrument Command and Data Handling system experienced a partial electronic failure in late September. (AFP/NASA)
T
he Hubble Space Telescope, which has been peering into the universe for more than 30 years, has been down for the past few days, NASA said Friday.
The problem is a payload computer that stopped working last Sunday, the US space agency said.
It insisted the telescope itself and scientific instruments that accompany it are "in good health."
"The payload computer's purpose is to control and coordinate the science instruments and monitor them for health and safety purposes," NASA said.
An attempt to restart it on Monday failed.
NASA said initial evidence pointed to a degrading computer memory module as the source of the computer problem.
An attempt to switch to a back-up memory module also failed.
The technology for the payload computer dates back to the 1980s, and it was replaced during maintenance work in 2009.
Launched in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope revolutionized the world of astronomy and changed our vision of the universe as it sent back images of the solar system, the Milky Way and distant galaxies.
A new and more powerful one, called the James Webb Space Telescope, is scheduled to be deployed late this year. It is designed to peer deeper into the cosmos than ever before.
