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Hubble Telescope’s ailing 1980s-era computer may not be as easy to fix as first thought as NASA says memory issues are a symptom not the cause and malfunction could be other hardware
- The Hubble Space Telescope has been offline for more than a week; NASA says the issue may be bigger than first believed
- NASA now believes the issue may stem from the Standard Interface (STINT) hardware on the 1980s era computer onboard the telescope
- The computer’s Central Processing Module (CPM) could also be the issue
- Initially, it was believed a memory module on the NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer-1 (NSSC-1) system was failing
- If the main computer can’t be fixed, NASA will switch the STINT and CPM to the backup payload computer
- The backup computer hasn’t been powered on since it was installed in 2009
The Hubble Space Telescope has been offline for more than a week because of a problem with a 1980s-era computer on the telescope and now NASA says the issue may be bigger than first believed.
‘After performing tests on several of the computer’s memory modules, the results indicate that a different piece of computer hardware may have caused the problem, with the memory errors being only a symptom,’ the US space agency wrote in an update on Tuesday.
‘The operations team is investigating whether the Standard Interface (STINT) hardware, which bridges communications between the computer’s Central Processing Module (CPM) and other components, or the CPM itself is responsible for the issue.
‘The team is currently designing tests that will be run in the next few days to attempt to further isolate the problem and identify a potential solution.’
The Hubble Space Telescope has been offline for more than a week; NASA says the issue may stem from the Standard Interface (STINT) hardware on the 1980s era computer onboard Hubble
Initially, it was believed that a memory module on the NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer-1 (NSSC-1) system was failing
Launched in 1990, Hubble is showing more and more signs of ageing, despite a series of repairs and updates by spacewalking astronauts during NASA’s shuttle era
DailyMail.com has reached out to the agency with a request for comment for this story.
Initially, it was believed that a memory module on the NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer-1 (NSSC-1) system was failing.
The Hubble Space Telescope is partnership between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
If the main payload computer can’t be fixed, NASA said it will switch the STINT and CPM hardware to the backup payload computer, albeit with one very large caveat.
It hasn’t been powered on since it was installed in 2009 during Hubble’s last servicing mission.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the ESA told MailOnline that ‘Hubble is in safe mode, restoration work in progress, no back-to-service date given yet.’
On June 14, flight controllers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland tried to restart the computer after they noticed it stopped working on June 13, but they ran into the same issue and could not get it to operate normally.
NASA says the telescope itself and scientific instruments that accompany it are ‘in good health,’ adding the issue is with payload computer that controls and coordinates the scientific instruments and monitors their health and safety.
Launched in 1990, Hubble is showing more and more signs of ageing, despite a series of repairs and updates by spacewalking astronauts during NASA’s shuttle era.
The Hubble recently marked its 31st anniversary in space, doing so with an image of a giant star that is ‘on the edge of destruction’.
The US space agency is going to replace the Hubble with $10 billion James Webb Telescope, however it has run into delays recently.
Earlier this month, said it would delay James Webb because the European Space Agency-funded Ariane 5 rocket to launch it isn’t ready.
A NASA spokesperson told DailyMail.com earlier this month the launch of the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope will happen ‘no earlier than October 31.’
It is still expected to launch for space this year and James Webb will spent at least 30 per cent of its first year studying exoplanets.
NASAs Hubble Space Telescope is still working and has made more than 1.3 million observations since its mission began in 1990
The Hubble telescope was launched on April 24, 1990, via the space shuttle Discovery from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.
It is named after famed astronomer Edwin Hubble who was born in Missouri in 1889.
He is arguably most famous for discovering that the universe is expanding and the rate at which is does so – now coined the Hubble constant.
The Hubble telescope is named after famed astronomer Edwin Hubble who was born in Missouri in 1889 (pictured)
Hubble has made more than 1.3 million observations since its mission began in 1990 and helped publish more than 15,000 scientific papers.
It orbits Earth at a speed of about 17,000mph (27,300kph) in low Earth orbit at about 340 miles in altitude.
Hubble has the pointing accuracy of .007 arc seconds, which is like being able to shine a laser beam focused on Franklin D. Roosevelt’s head on a dime roughly 200 miles (320km) away.
The Hubble telescope is named after Edwin Hubble who was responsible for coming up with the Hubble constant and is one of the greatest astronomers of all-time
Hubble’s primary mirror is 2.4 meters (7 feet, 10.5 inches) across and in total is 13.3 meters (43.5 feet) long – the length of a large school bus.
Hubble’s launch and deployment in April 1990 marked the most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo’s telescope.
Thanks to five servicing missions and more than 25 years of operation, our view of the universe and our place within it has never been the same.
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