Breaking news today that the Hubble Space Telescope is having some trouble. The Control Unit/Science Data Formatter (CUSDF, great acronym people!) shut down. This means that no science data can be sent back to Earth. All cameras are shut down. It should be pointed out that this is side A of the CUSDF. Hubble has operated on side A its entire lifetime. As you probably expect by now, there is also a side B capable of performing exactly the same functions and NASA can switch to it with proper planning. It should be noted that side B has been in space for 18 years and never used, so hopefully, it it still functioning!Hubble is now in safe mode. Most satellites have a safe mode designed to kick in if something big goes wrong. Going into safe mode is a positive sign. Hubble will keep its batteries charged and essential systems are protected. If everything shut down and Hubble started tumbling, we wouldn't even be able to capture it for service.
Right now the next Shuttle is still scheduled to lift off on October 14th for a servicing mission. It may be delayed if they decide to try and replace side A of the CUSDF on this mission. They would have to get a replacement to the Cape, test it and train the astronauts how to install it which would take months. If they switch to side B and it works, they have a tough call on whatto do. They could let it fly with just one side functioning and no backup. This mission is the last scheduled servicing mission for Hubble, and it definitely won't last another 18 years. However, there is no guarantee side B will last as long as side A.
Here's hoping our 18 year old piece of space hardware is up to the task!
"Telescope for Sale. Needs some work. No shipping. Pick up only As Is Where Is."
ReplyDeleteGood thing they used the "Heavy Duty" Reynolds Wrap instead of the generic el-cheapo stuff...
ReplyDeleteI hope they will be able to fix it. I love the pics from Hubble.
ReplyDeleteI snagged a piece of that wrap when I visited Goddard one time...mine was leftover from the COBE mission. I also have a solid gold coated spare mirror from the Suzauku satellite (it's only a few atom thick layer...I calculated it was less than $2 worth of gold at the time...maybe $4 now!)
ReplyDeleteNASA had a press conference today. The good news is that Hubble is safe. They are going to switch to the backup and probably delay the servicing mission to get spare parts up there.
This maybe a blessing in disguise...good thing it failed BEFORE the servicing mission.
I've used that resoning when the truck breaks down before winter. I'll think, "At least it didn't happen when it's 20 below."
ReplyDeleteI hope they get the Hubble to 100%. I love the pics from it, too.
Just got back from reading about the Hubble on Wikipedia. Pretty interesting... The Hubble has some Wisconsin roots. One of the key instruments, the high speed photometer, was designed and built at UW-Madison.
ReplyDeleteWhen the Hubble needed it's first servicing to correct major errors that prevented the telescope from functioning, the photometer needed to be sacrificed to make the repair.
Good research there, kk. COSTAR is the instrument they added to correct the deformity in the mirror. All the newer instruments have corrective optics built in so it is no longer necessary. I don't know if I would call them major errors...the deformation in the mirror was less than the width of a human hair :) Even such small errors can lead to big loss in image resolution.
ReplyDeleteWisconsin has some good astro connections. The U of Wisconsin is the W in the WIYN 3.5 meter telescope on Kitt Peak. They also run WHAM (The Wisconsin H-Alpha Mapper) which is on its way to Chile to map the southern skies (it was on Kitt Peak also). UW has an instrument on SALT (the South Africa Large Telescope) and has a survey on the Spitzer Space Telescope. UW is a parnter on the Ice Cube Neutrino Telescope as well. UWM is a partner in the LIGO observatory looking for gravity waves. It may not seem like it, but a lot of astronomy research happens in Wisconsin (and this is not a comprehensive list).
All Hubble data more than one year old is publicly available on the web. Anyone who wants to can download it and look at it. If we have any photoshop wizards, I recommend trying FITS Liberator, a plug in that will import Hubble data to Photoshop (FITS is a special file type that astronomers use). FITS Liberator is targeted at hobbyists who want to make their own pretty pictures using Hubble data.
I know people always wonder why data is not public for one year. Astronomers have to apply for time on Hubble and most applications get turned down. If you are lucky enough to get your proposal accepted, you don't want some yahoo taking your data which you did all the hard work to collect and scooping your discovery! On the other hand, it is a publicly funded observatory and its data should be available to everyone since we funded it. The compromise that has been decided on is that the data is only accessible by the observer for the first year. If you haven't analyzed your data after one year, it's fair game for anyone. Sometimes when someone makes a major discovery, they can choose to release their data to the public before a year has passed.
I should stop now...that is more info than was asked for :)