NASA Engineers Studying Problem with Hubble Telescope
28 June 2006
Main camera shut down June 19, review board to assess proposed actions
Washington -- NASA engineers continue to examine the issues surrounding a problem related to the advanced camera for surveys, the main instrument for gathering images aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, a joint project with the European Space Agency.
Engineers received indications on June 19 that power supply voltages were outside acceptable limits, causing the camera to stop working, according to a June 27 NASA press release.
The camera has been taken off line so engineers can study the problem and determine a remedy. Hubble observations are continuing using the other science instruments onboard.
"We believe we are very close to fully understanding the issue experienced with the camera and we are going to resolve it," said Ed Ruitberg, deputy associate director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.
Before work begins, he added, "we want to have a review board meeting to assess both the troubleshooting and the proposed solution."
The Hubble Space Telescope was placed in orbit in April 1990 and in June that year scientists discovered a problem with its primary mirror. Astronauts from the space shuttle Endeavor fixed the problem in 1993 during a servicing mission.
Servicing missions in 1997, 1999 and 2002 fixed other problems and performed maintenance.
In January 2004, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin cancelled further on-orbit manned servicing because of potential risks to shuttle astronauts. Hubble managers now are considering other options, including a remotely controlled robotic servicing mission.
In testimony in April before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, Griffin said that after the July launch of the space shuttle Discovery, he would convene NASA’s senior management team for space operations "to determine whether the space shuttle can safely conduct a fifth servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in 2007-2008."
The space telescope review board will meet at Goddard June 29 to decide the best course of action. Engineers anticipate that instrument observations will resume no earlier than July 3, with no degrading of performance.
This third-generation instrument consists of three electronic cameras, filters and dispersers that detect light from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. The camera was installed during a March 2002 servicing mission.
Information about the Hubble Space Telescope is available at the NASA Web site.
Text of the press release is available at the NASA Web site.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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