Hubble Space Telescope: US space agency NASA last Thursday started the method to repair a technical glitch in the Hubble Space Telescope, which has not been capable to be utilised for work connected to science for more than a month. According to a report in IE, the glitch has been named the most severe challenge that the Hubble Space Telescope has faced in a decade, and due to this malfunction, the observatory was working in the “safe mode”. After a laptop or computer onboard the Hubble halted on June 13, the telescope’s protected mode was activated, which means that all non-critical systems have been shut down. This had rendered NASA unable to use the Hubble Space Telescope for any astronomy observations.
The report added that if NASA have been capable to carry out the repair work effectively, it would take a handful of days for the telescope to return to typical and function adequately. The Hubble is important to NASA, as the telescope which has been scouring space for more than 3 decades now and has typically been described to be the most essential scientific tool to have been constructed. Since getting launched in 1990, Hubble has sent out more than 15 lakh observations.
Hubble entered protected mode when its payload laptop or computer controlling and coordinating the science instruments onboard suffered a difficulty. Following this, the ground group coordinating Hubble spent a month operating tests and analyses to come across out the challenge, which was identified to be most likely present in the Power Control Unit (PCU). The PCU is supposed to guarantee that the payload computer’s hardware gets a steady provide of voltage.
Last week, NASA explained in a statement that the payload laptop or computer and its memory received a continuous 5 volts of power from a energy regulator in the PCU. The space agency added that this energy regulator also had a secondary circuit which told the laptop or computer to cease operations in case of the voltage fluctuating to levels under the allowable levels or exceeding them. The evaluation of the Hubble ground group has recommended that either the voltage getting supplied by the regulator has gone outdoors of the acceptable levels or gradual degradation of the secondary protection circuit has brought on it to be stuck in this state.
NASA attempted to restart the PCU, but its try failed, and as a result, the agency decided to switch the PCU aboard the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling (SI C&DH) unit of the telescope, transferring the operations to the backup PCU. The method started on July 15, and the agency anticipated the method to take a handful of days, but the telescope was capable to switch to the backup the next day itself. This permitted NASA to return Hubble to science operations on July 17 itself.
While the stopping of the Hubble was a important concern, the switch to backup PCU has offered hopes that the telescope would continue to function for a lengthy time, considering that it has considerably contributed to a greater understanding of outer space by supplying clear photos.