The legendary Hubble Space Telescope seems to be in trouble yet again. The science instruments on the iconic telescope went into a safe mode “after experiencing synchronization issues with internal spacecraft communications,” Hubble team members tweeted.
“Science observations have been temporarily suspended while the team investigates the issue. The instruments remain in good health,” they added.
Hubble showing signs of aging
Hubble Space Telescope is a joint venture of NASA and the ESA, and it was launched into Earth orbit in April 1990. It has been showing signs of aging for quite some time now. Previously, the orbital outpost went offline for more than a month after its main payload computer ran into a glitch. The team managed to get the telescope working in July after switching to the backup computer.
The current issue might not be as big as the previous one, as it has just affected the telescope’s instruments and not the entire observatory. But we’ll have to wait for more updates to learn more. The telescope’s history is filled with hurdles overcome and challenges faced.
The space agency is gearing up to launch Hubble’s successor – James Webb Space Telescope, which is worth $10 billion. Recently, NASA announced that the telescope had arrived at its launch site in French Guiana. The journey from NASA’s facility to the launch site was done on a ship in 16 days.
James Webb Space Telescope to embrace skies
The telescope was moved 5,800 miles and was offloaded from the ship inside its specifically-crafted container before being sent to the launch site at the Europe Spaceport in Kourou, where the team will prepare the telescope for launch. The new space telescope was packed like origami and will unfold its arms once in orbit. ESA calls the James Webb telescope “the next great space science observatory.”
The telescope was previously slated to take off in 2020; however, after the pandemic, the launch date got postponed several times. The telescope will help scientists unravel the mysteries of the universe and broaden our understanding of outer space.
