NASA's Hubble telescope to resume science operations Friday

NASA is planning to resume science operations for its veteran space telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope, on Friday, December 8, following a series of tests to gain insight into the gyro issue that caused the spacecraft to pause science operations last week.

For the unversed, Hubble had six new gyros installed during the fifth space shuttle servicing mission in 2009. The telescope entered safe mode on November 23 due to a gyroscope (gyro) issue. The telescope automatically entered safe mode when one of its three gyroscopes gave faulty readings. While in safe mode, science operations are suspended, and the telescope awaits instructions from the ground.

In the latest update, NASA said that after analyzing the data, the team has determined science operations can resume under three-gyro control. Based on the performance observed during the tests, the team has decided to operate the gyros in a higher-precision mode during science observations. Hubble's instruments and the observatory itself remain stable and in good health.

NASA plans to restore the Hubble Space Telescope to normal science operations on Friday, Dec. 8 following a series of tests to gain insight into the gyro performance that caused the spacecraft to pause science operations last week: https://t.co/U0PPbTqDZi pic.twitter.com/rPmeaf6QDq

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) December 7, 2023

Launched in 1990, Hubble has been observing the universe for more than 33 years and has revolutionized our understanding of the mysterious universe.

Update

NASA successfully restored Hubble to science operations on Friday, December 8. The spacecraft is in good health and once again operating using all three of its gyros, the agency said in a statement.

Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), resumed science observations Friday. The mission team plans to restore operations to the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph later this month.