Engineers identified the likely cause of Hubble Space Telescope Computer ProblemsThey plan to start implementing the reform on Thursday, July 15.
Hubble He has been out of business since June 13, when he ran into a problem with his computer, which controls and monitors the iconic group’s scientific instruments. After conducting a series of scans and tests over the past month, the Hubble team now believes they’ve discovered the cause – a problem with the power control unit (PCU).
Like the payload computer, the PCU is located in the Scientific Instruments Data Processing and Control Unit (SI C&DH) at Hubble. The PCU ensures that the accompanying computer and associated peripherals have a constant current of electricity. Officials explained that it does this by using a power regulator and a “secondary protection circuit,” which tells the payload computer to shut down if the voltage is above or below acceptable levels.
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“The team’s analysis indicates that the regulator’s voltage level is outside acceptable levels (and thus the secondary protection circuit has failed), or the secondary protection circuit has deteriorated over time. It is stuck in this sinking state,” NASA officials wrote.
The team has already tried resetting the PCU, but failed. So the next step is to switch to the spare side of the SI C&DH unit, which has a spare PCU. All testing and revisions have been conducted prior to this planned overhaul, which will begin on Thursday.
If the change succeeds, NASA officials said, Hubble will likely be able to resume normal science activities after a few days.
This type of reform is not without precedent. In 2008, the team replaced another part of SI C&DH, the Data Science Coordination/Command unit, after the unit failed. The astronauts on the spacewalk replaced the entire SI C&DH module in 2009 with the one now used by Hubble.
The Hubble Telescope was launched into Earth orbit aboard the space shuttle Discovery in April 1990. The telescope was famous for repairing its faulty primary mirror during a maintenance mission in 1993, and provided a breathtaking view of the universe and Amazing scientific discoveries, Where.
Mike Wall is the author of “Abroad(Great Grand Publishing House, 2018; illustration by Carl Tate), A book on the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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