Hubble Limping Along

NASA engineers managed to get power restored to one of three detectors on the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the Hubble telescope. If power remains stable for a period of time, observations will resume. Meanwhile, NASA is holding a meeting to determine if they can safely send a shuttle to the telescope to keep it operational until a replacement can be launched.

Power was restored to one of three detectors on the Advanced Camera for Surveys after an electrical relay suspected as the cause of the shutdown was toggled on and off. NASA engineers believe the debris interfered with the electrical contact, the Space Telescope Science Institute said in a statement.

The institute said the performance of the detector will be monitored for the rest of the week. Observations will resume next week if its performance remains stable.

The Baltimore-based institute coordinates use of the orbiting telescope, launched in 1990 by the space shuttle, which has revolutionized astronomy with some of the most striking images ever seen in space.

NASA has scheduled a meeting Oct. 27 on the safety of a shuttle mission to service the Hubble to keep it working until a replacement is launched in 2011. The agency canceled a previously scheduled Hubble mission following the loss of the shuttle Columbia in 2003. That decision prompted an outcry from scientists and the public and forced NASA to reconsider.

It would be a real shame to lose this telescope. It has been the source of astonishing pictures of space since they got it working properly. Here's the Hubble website where you can see the amazing legacy of this instrument. You can also get really cool wallpaper for your computer screen.