Had Problems, NASA's Hubble Telescope Will Operate With One Giroscop

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope entered safe mode on May 24 due to problems with the gyroscope. After conducting a series of tests, Hubble finally returned to operation without any problems.

However, there has been a change in the components of the aircraft. Delivered by NASA on Tuesday, June 4, Hubble will operate with one gyroscope. This is a very drastic reduction as Hubble previously used three gyroscopes. Initially, Hubble had six gyroscopes to support the course of the mission. However, one by one the gyroscope could not operate until finally only three remained. In the last six months, one of the three gyroscopes has continued to provide incorrect readout results. "(errors on one of the gyroscopes) caused the spacecraft to enter safe mode several times and delayed science observations while the telescope was waiting for new instructions from the ground," NASA said, quoted on Wednesday, May 5. This gyroscope has been repaired several times by NASA technicians, such as rearranging the gyroscope electronics to produce normal readback. However, this improvement is only temporary because the gyroscope is back in trouble. Although Hubble still has two remaining gyroscopes, the telescope will continue to operate with one gyroscope over the next few times. One other gyroscope will be stored as a backup if the reused gyroscope is problematic.

"This change will allow Hubble to continue to explore the secrets of the universe during this decade and beyond, with most of its observations not affected," NASA explained. Although Hubble could operate with a single gyroscope, the telescope's observation mission will run a little slower. The reason is, Hubble will not be as flexible as before and will take longer time to lock targets. "The observatory will take more time to reach and lock down science targets and will not have much flexibility regarding its observational venues at any given time. It will also not be able to track moving objects closer than Mars," NASA said.