NASA is fixing a computer glitch on a giant telescope in space. That's just as hard as it sounds:
After more than a month of testing and trying, NASA's engineers have finally diagnosed the source of an ongoing glitch on Hubble, the 31-year-old giant telescope that is currently orbiting in space almost 600 kilometers away from Earth.
On 13th June, Hubble automatically placed all of its science instruments on standby as a security measure following the failure of the telescope's payload computer – one of the central systems that controls and coordinates the instruments onboard the spacecraft, and transmits science and engineering data to the ground.
[...] Although Hubble's team has now identified the PCU [(Power Control Unit)] as the source of the glitch, it is only the start of the fix. It is impossible to reset the component using ground commands, meaning that NASA's team will have to switch to the backup side of the SI C&D [(Science Instrument Command and Data Handling)] module that contains the backup PCU.
This is a complex and risky operation, because it is likely to impact several other hardware boxes on the spacecraft that are also connected to this particular side of the SI C&D module.
"Every time we swap components in the operational chain, we treat it as a big deal," Paul Hertz, NASA's astrophysics division director, told ZDNet. "We want to make sure we do it correctly, that we think of all the possible consequences of making that change, that we send the correct commands up to the spacecraft, so that it does the swap over in the correct and safe manner."
[...] The switch will be carried out over the next few days, and NASA's engineers are hopeful that the operation will allow Hubble to resume its normal scientific observations as soon as possible.
Other sources say that today, Thursday July15th, is the day. Fingers crossed.
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Hooray! After millions of astronomers held their breath for a very long time, Hubble is back in action! From Phys.org.
The Hubble Space Telescope should be back in action soon, following a tricky, remote repair job by NASA.
The orbiting observatory went dark in mid-June, with all astronomical viewing halted.
NASA initially suspected a 1980s-era computer as the source of the problem. But after the backup payload computer also failed, flight controllers at Maryland's Goddard Space Flight Center focused on the science instruments' bigger and more encompassing command and data unit, installed by spacewalking astronauts in 2009.
Engineers successfully switched to the backup equipment Thursday, and the crucial payload computer kicked in. NASA said Friday that science observations should resume quickly, if everything goes well.
One small switch for Hubble, one giant look at the cosmos for mankind! Godspeed, Space Telescope!
NASA revives ailing Hubble Space Telescope with switch to backup computer
The Hubble Space Telescope has powered on once again! NASA was able to successfully switch to a backup computer on the observatory on Friday (July 16) following weeks of computer problems.
On June 13, Hubble shut down after a payload computer from the 1980s that handles the telescope's science instruments suffered a glitch. Now, over a month since Hubble ran into issues, which the Hubble team thinks were caused by the spacecraft's Power Control Unit (PCU), NASA switched to backup hardware and was able to switch the scope back on.
With Hubble back online with this backup hardware, the Hubble team is keeping a close watch to make sure that everything works correctly, according to a statement from NASA.
[....] Included in this switch to backup hardware, the team brought the backup PCU online as well as the backup Command Unit/Science Data Formatter (CU/SDF), which is on the other side of the Science Instrument and Command & Data Handling (SI C&DH) unit, according to the statement. The PCU diverts power to the SI C&DH while the CU/SDF formats and then sends data and commands throughout the scope.
Other pieces of hardware were also swapped to their backup versions to allow the telescope to function.
See also:
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @12:59AM
Tgen add 50% to their bill for overhead and send it to Congress. Problem solved... the NASA way!
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @01:18AM (4 children)
Just call the geek squad and stop wasting taxpayers money.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday July 16 2021, @01:21AM (3 children)
The geeks were suffocated and irradiated.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @01:53AM
Mutant Radioactive Geek Squad?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @01:55AM
SpaceX SuperGeeks vans were not designed for exo-vehicular activities.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @09:56PM
But were they carbon dated, fumigated, cremated, and buried at sea [youtube.com]?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @01:38AM
... that's just as hard as it sounds.
(Score: 2) by MIRV888 on Friday July 16 2021, @01:57AM (3 children)
I imagine they are being very careful given the consequences if the swap fails.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @02:34AM (1 child)
I'm sure they're being very careful, but I still don't see how they're going to get all the punched cards up there.
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday July 16 2021, @03:06PM
Cue thematic music, fade to heroes walking across scene. *Insert* Bruce Willis and team.
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by fakefuck39 on Friday July 16 2021, @09:32PM
It didn't fail. It was successful and the telescope is working fine. This story is out of date.
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/07/hubble-back-famed-space-telescope-has-new-lease-life-after-computer-swap-appears-fix [sciencemag.org]
as always, soylent is a place to make fun of the autistic and the trumpertely-abled. the real discussion, about current news, is here.
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27855720 [ycombinator.com]
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @02:42AM (3 children)
If ari and anti-ari come in physical contact in the meat space, would they annihilate each other?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @02:48AM
ari: When I get my hands on you, you one ded mofo.
anti-ari: Bring it on, bring it on, catamite.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @02:55AM (1 child)
Which one wears the goatee?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @03:14PM
Did you just spell "goat" wrong?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @03:15PM
I am genuinely surprised that nobody from JPL hasn't suggested using their plucky little helicopter to fix it. It would be the first time that a rotorcraft has repaired an astronomical telescope in orbit! It slices, it dices, you can use it as a pot holder! Sooooo looking forward to hearing about its tenth flight where surely it will be the first time to do something else!
(Score: 2) by AnonTechie on Friday July 16 2021, @04:09PM
https://gizmodo.com/hubble-space-telescope-is-back-1847305715 [gizmodo.com]
Albert Einstein - "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 16 2021, @08:27PM
i am "launching" (sic) a petition to bring this sat home so we can "for heavens sake" f#cking find out how shit deteriorates in a feaking void!