Oman Daily Observer

NASA’S HOBBLED HUBBLE TELESCOPE IS NEAR NORMAL AGAIN

-

TAMPA: Nasa’s famed Hubble Space Telescope is nearly back to normal after a failed orienting tool forced engineers to put it in safe mode earlier this month, the US space agency said.

The problem came from one of the pieces of equipment on board known as a gyroscope, which helps point and orient the telescope.

The gyro was one of three in active use and had been acting up in recent months.

Two others like it have already failed, Nasa said, of a total of six on the telescope which has been circling the Earth since 1990.

The telescope was put into safe mode on October 8 while Earth-based engineers tried to fix the problem.

An attempt to revive the gyroscope by turning it in the opposite direction appears to have cleared any blockage, Nasa reported late on Monday.

Next, the US space agency “plans to execute a series of tests to evaluate the performanc­e of the gyro under conditions similar to those encountere­d during routine science observatio­ns, including moving to targets, locking on to a target, and performing precision pointing,” said a Nasa statement.

“After these engineerin­g tests have been completed, Hubble is expected to soon return to normal science operations.”

The Hubble Space Telescope has helped scientists discover troves of new planets, make a 3D map of dark matter in the universe, and shed new light on the mysteries of black holes.

A joint project of Nasa and the European Space Agency, it was originally meant to last 15 years, but has been in operation more than 28.

Its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, is scheduled to launch in 2021.

 ?? — AFP ?? This picture taken on Tuesday shows farmers drying soybeans in Liaocheng in China’s eastern Shandong province.
— AFP This picture taken on Tuesday shows farmers drying soybeans in Liaocheng in China’s eastern Shandong province.
 ?? — Reuters ?? province, China. Men work on cables connecting power transmissi­on towers in Zhoushan, Zhejiang
— Reuters province, China. Men work on cables connecting power transmissi­on towers in Zhoushan, Zhejiang
 ?? — AFP ?? The iconic Chrysler Building an Art Deco–style skyscraper is seen between two buildings in Midtown Manhattan New York City, US, on Tuesday.
— AFP The iconic Chrysler Building an Art Deco–style skyscraper is seen between two buildings in Midtown Manhattan New York City, US, on Tuesday.
 ?? — AFP ?? Two Buddhist novices arrive to attend a ceremony at a pagoda during the Thadingyut festival in Bago, Myanmar, on Wednesday. Thadingyut festival, the festival of Lights, is held during the full moon on the lunar month of Thadingyut and marks the end of the Buddhist Lent.
— AFP Two Buddhist novices arrive to attend a ceremony at a pagoda during the Thadingyut festival in Bago, Myanmar, on Wednesday. Thadingyut festival, the festival of Lights, is held during the full moon on the lunar month of Thadingyut and marks the end of the Buddhist Lent.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Oman