After 31 Years Of Exploring Space, The Hubble Telescope Breaks

The Hubble Telescope ends its lifespan (Phys)

JAKARTA – The Hubble Telescope has accompanied astronomers for 31 years in examining the most distant stars. But recently NASA reported that Hubble suffered damage to its main computer and backup computer.

The main computer is too old to operate, and so is the backup computer. Both suffered serious damage. This left NASA running out of ways to repair the aging Hubble Space Telescope.

Launching SpaceNews, the director of NASA's Astrophysics Division said it would be "extremely careful" in examining a number of malfunctions in the main and backup computers on the Hubble telescope. NASA will also be in no hurry to fix it.

Previously, on June 13, the main computer was forced to switch to safe mode. Meanwhile, on June 23 and 24, a number of NASA scientists worked to repair the damage in order to continue scientific research.

However, turning on the spare computer that was installed 12 years ago appears to have resulted in an even bigger problem. Scientists had a hard time fixing it because the main and backup computers had both onboard memory crashes.

Based on the Futurism report, scientists are currently focusing on the Hubble hardware section, which includes the telescope's data controller and power regulator that supplies a specific and stable voltage to all parts of the telescope.

“The power regulator ensures a steady supply of constant voltage. If the voltage is out of bounds, it can cause problems that (should be) concerned," NASA said.

This week engineers are scrambling to research Hubble's hardware malfunctions and try to switch functions to a backup power controller.

The Hubble Telescope has made a major contribution to space exploration for 31 years. Through Hubble, astronomers can observe other planets outside the solar system for the first time.