Comments on: Hubble is getting better

By: Hubble servicing mission set for May 12 | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 23:34:38 +0000

[...] in September, right before a Shuttle was due to launch to service Hubble, a major hardware failure on Hubble forced NASA to delay the flight. NASA announced today that the delay be until May 12, 2009. On that [...]

By: tracer

tracer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 23:37:07 +0000

I can just imagine the heartbreak that little unscheduled downtimes like this must cause.

I don’t know how time on the Hubble Space Telescope is apportioned out, but I could image that there was some astro graduate student, say, 2 years ago, who became *ecstatic* when she learned that her Dissertation project had been chosen for an HST experiment. The time was booked, the images the HST had to take were all chosen and progammed in, she crossed their fingers … and then, this software glitch comes along and takes the HST out of commission for a few days.

By the time the glitch is fixed, her reserved time-slot on the HST will be over with, and her lifetime opportunity will be lost.

By: Hubble Is Closer To Coming Back « In Other Words

Hubble Is Closer To Coming Back « In Other Words — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 02:41:01 +0000

[...] Phil Plait, of Bad Astronomy Blog gives us our first report on HST since it “safed” on Friday. [...]

By: Brian York

Brian York — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:59:18 +0000

@Chris

One correction to that list — NICMOS is currently out of service, due to its cryogen circulation pump having failed to restart about a month ago (entirely unrelated to the current problems with the SI C&DH). However, the problem was (probably) resolved by letting NICMOS warm up to ambient, and so a restart of the cryogen system may well happen in the near future.

By: Crux Australis

Crux Australis — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:20:35 +0000

Thanks Chris! I’d heard of all of those, but didn’t realize they were the ‘science instruments’.

By: Chris A.

Chris A. — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:40:30 +0000

@ Crux:

The current science instruments include:

ACS (Advanced Camera for Surveys) – Currently “dead” except for its infrequently-used “Solar Blind Channel” UV photometer, and slated for repair on the final HST servicing mission (SM4)

FGS (Fine Guidance Sensors) – Primarily used for maintaining the telescope’s pointing, but also used for astrometry (high-precision star position measurements)

NICMOS (Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrograph) – Currently operational

STIS (Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph) – Currently “dead” and awaiting repair in SM4

WFPC2 (Wide-Field/Planetary Camera 2) – Currently operational, occupies the “sweet spot” at the center of Hubble’s field of view. To be replaced by WFPC3 on SM4.

COSTAR (Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement) – Not a science instrument per se, this is the device that contains mirrors used to correct for HST’s flawed primary mirror figure. Since it no longer needed (all other science instruments on board have their own internal corrective optics), it will be replaced by the COS (Cosmic Origins Spectrograph) on SM4.

By: ccpetersen

ccpetersen — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:34:39 +0000

Good news!

And, HST is not the first scope of its size to be orbited… look up Keyhole Satellites

By: Lab Lemming

Lab Lemming — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 23:02:23 +0000

If it stays broken, can we get more astronometry measurements?

By: Phil Plait

Phil Plait — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:59:18 +0000

Actually, there have been many telescopes in space before Hubble. It’s not even the first optical ‘scope. Look up OAO.

By: billsmithaz

billsmithaz — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:49:14 +0000

@JSW:
I’m nowhere near an expert, but I would imagine that powering up the backup system would require powering down the primary system. What happens if you shut down Side A, find out that Side B is toast, then can’t power Side A back up?

By: Ed

Ed — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:33:10 +0000

If my memory serves me, Hubble was the first space telescope.
How many scopes are now in space?

By: Crux Australis

Crux Australis — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:58:20 +0000

This is pretty basic, but exactly what sort of instruments are the science instruments? And don’t say “science ones”! Like, magnetometers, electric field meters?

By: STS-125 Shuttle Mission: Hubble Servicing Mission 4 - Page 3 - Bad Astronomy and Universe Today Forum

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:47:27 +0000

[...] BA Blog: Hubble is getting better Quote: [...]

By: JSW

JSW — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:35:25 +0000

Is there any reason why NASA didn’t schedule intermittent tests of the backup equipment throughout Hubble’s lifespan instead of waiting until the primary system broke before trying the backups for the first time?

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:16:27 +0000

Best of luck to the Hubble Team! Getting this wonderful telescope back in a healthy condition will be great news.

That said, even though I am an Embedded Software Engineer and have a pretty good understanding (in principle) of the details involved, it always amazes me when NASA, JPL, Etc does these kinds of remote maintenance tasks.

By: William

William — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:12:57 +0000

Teh Awesome.