Sun, Oct 15, 2006
Debris In Switch Suspected Culprit
A voltage drop had scientists charged with operating the Hubble
orbiting telescope worried enough to shut it down. That's the
second time Hubble has been shut down this year.
But technicians believe they've found the problem.
NASA engineers narrowed it down to a switch controlling power to
one of three detectors on the Advance Camera for Surveys. They
believe a bit of debris caught in the relay was responsible.
After toggling the switch on and off a few time, voltage
returned to nominal levels. Funny, my computer does the same thing
some times!
The Space Telescope Science Institute, charged with coordinating
use of the orbital device, says it will carefully monitor the
telescope's performance over the next week.
The Hubble utilizes three electronic camera and an array of
filters and dispersers allowing detection of light from UV to
near-infrared. It's position in orbit makes it immune to the
atmospheric interference and light pollution ground-based
telescopes must contend with.
Aside from it's ability to see farther into space than any other
telescope, dramatic images of deep-space objects, such as the
one below of the Eagle Nebula taken by Hubble,
continue to fascinate and inspire astronomers the world
over.
NASA canceled a mission to service the Hubble following the
Columbia disaster in 2003. Public pressure and repeated requests to
reconsider from scientists has prompted NASA to schedule a meeting
later this month to discuss the possibility of another Hubble
service mission.
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