Illustration of the Hubble Space Telescope above Earth. Credit: ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser & LL Christensen)
On April 30, 2024, NASA announced that it had restored the agency The Hubble Space Telescope to scientific operations on April 29. The spaceship is healthy and functioning again using its three gyroscopes. All of Hubble’s instruments are online and the spacecraft has resumed scientific observations.
NASA began working on resuming science operations after the Hubble Space Telescope entered safe mode on April 23 due to a persistent gyroscope (gyroscope) problem. Hubble’s instruments remained stable, with the telescope in good health.
The telescope automatically went into safe mode when any of its three gyroscopes gave erroneous readings. Gyroscopes measure the rotation rates of the telescope and are part of the system that determines the direction in which the telescope is pointed. In safe mode, science operations are suspended and the telescope waits for new directions from the ground.
The Hubble Space Telescope as seen from Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-125) in May 2009, during the fifth and final maintenance of the orbiting observatory. Credit: NASA
This particular gyroscope caused Hubble to go into safe mode in November after returning similar erroneous readings. The team is currently working to identify potential solutions. If necessary, the spacecraft can be reconfigured to operate with a single gyroscope, with the other remaining gyroscope placed in reserve.
The spacecraft installed six new gyroscopes during the Space Shuttle’s fifth and final servicing mission in 2009. To date, three of these gyroscopes remain operational, including the gyroscope that just experienced fluctuations. Hubble uses three gyroscopes to maximize its efficiency, but could continue to perform scientific observations with a single gyroscope if necessary.
NASA predicts that Hubble will continue to make groundbreaking discoveries, working with other observatories, such as the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope, throughout this decade and perhaps into the next.
Launched in 1990, Hubble has been observing the universe for more than three decades and recently celebrated its 34th anniversary.
