NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope had a rough month. In an on-again, off-again saga of cosmic proportions, engineers encountered more problems while trying to fix an original malfunction. But don’t give up on Hubble yet.
Engineers announced October 23 that the problems were not serious, and that the team will attempt to revive Hubble’s scientific operations once again. The assessment is based on an exhaustive review of the data collected from Hubble as it was faltering on October 16. The Hubble team has received the go-ahead from NASA headquarters to reactivate the science tools through a backup “B” side computer, and the reactivation may take place over the weekend.
“Currently we’re looking at early Saturday morning to be up,” Art Whipple, manager of the Hubble Systems Management Office at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., told reporters during an Oct. 23 conference call.
Over the last 18 years, Hubble, from its orbit of Earth, has provided unparalleled views of far-off galaxies, black holes and other cosmic mysteries; the data it sends back have transformed our view of the universe.