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Hubble telescope has new lease on life after computer swap appears to fix glitch
- js4ever 5y agoNASA and Space engineering is fascinating! Being able to do this on 30 years old hardware ... In space
- peter303 5y agoParts are 40 years old and parts 12 years old- fourth servicing mission.
- zabzonk 5y agoHurrah! We may well need it if the James Webb doesn't go according to plan. But really, aren't these spacecraft, rovers, exploration programmes, etc. among the best example of what humans can do if they put their minds to it?
- Tomte 5y agoHubble "sees" different wavelengths than JWT, also, both are overbooked. So we really want Hubble as long as possible, no matter how the JWT launch goes.
- Mentoio 5y agoHui, does that really matter? or lets ask other: Is JWT able to make another but more crazy deep field image? I think i have to read up on it :D
- smeyer 5y agoYes, it really matters. It might not matter from the perspective of just making cool looking images, because you can do that in any wavelength. But for science, the wavelengths matter a lot, and you can learn different things at different wavelengths.
- Mentoio 5y agoOh no no, i was just worried that JWT would actually not be able to do a deep field 2.0. im very curious on potentially higher details on this and mentioning that JWT and Hubble use different wavelength (or JWT might be able to do more?) would have meant that JWT wouldn't be able to do the same as Hubble in regards of a deep field.
- rootbear 5y agoThere is great interest in using both instruments to observe the same target simultaneously, for example, a new supernova. It would be a real loss not to have Hubble available for such observations after JWST launches later this year.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- zinekeller 5y agoThe link is fine, but here's the news from NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/operations-underway-to-restore-payload-computer-on-nasas-hubble-space-telescope https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/operations-underwa...
- platz 5y agoThe article contradicts itself several times on what the actual fix was.
- cyberlurker 5y ago“ NASA announced that they had identified the Power Control Unit (PCU), which is part of the SI C&DH, as the source of the problem” So they had a spare PCU that they switched to. Hubble was launched in 1990. Is 30+ years normal for a continuously operating PCU? What is the expected lifespan of the “new” PCU that has been sitting this whole time?
- ceejayoz 5y agoNot just continuously operating, but in a very harsh environment. Impressive.
- BeefWellington 5y agoNASA's hardware is deployed in anything but normal circumstances, so normal for them vs normal for the consumer are vastly different things. Given the longevity and how well engineered things are for their other projects, I'd have to say yeah it seems pretty "normal" to me. It seems like they overengineer and quality control to the point of doubling planned mission length, if not longer. My cynical take on it is they do it this way because of the nature of their funding rather than any specific engineering goal.
- rtkwe 5y agoPart of the source of the discrepancy is the planned mission is basically just what they get initial funding for not everything they would like to do and the entire mission length they'd like to use. Because launch costs are such a big part of the costs of ever replacing a Hubble or a Curiosity it makes sense for them to last longer than they're funded for because most likely they'll continue to get some funding a long as there's good science and the equipment is still usable. Also the cost of failure is pretty high, if you have something break early there's not another rover/satellite program there to replace it the science just doesn't get done until the next program in 10 years gets sent unless someone else was sending a similar device to that destination.
- Steltek 5y agoAnyone claiming to have a real answer to that would be torn to pieces by Richard Feynman. I think you'll need to be satisfied with best guesses and a metaphysical "as long as it lasts".
- agloeregrets 5y agoSo...are we gonna send up a replacement failover? Seems risky.
- rootbear 5y agoThere is currently no way to service Hubble, now that the Shuttle fleet has been retired.
- yoursunny 5y agoIt's amazing how much redundancy was built into those out-of-touch systems, 30 years ago. However, the number of backup units is finite, so let's hope the now-operating system can last for several more decades.
- melling 5y ago…or as I try to occasionally discuss here… let’s simply develop the unmanned robotic capability to service Hubble, etc I found one discussion from 7 years ago “… I think we should start a more extensive national unmanned space program. For example, if the Hubble, or its replacement, needs to be fixed, we should have an unmanned answer, for instance.” https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8540664 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8540664
- chmod775 5y agoI think 'simply' is precisely the wrong adjective. Plus you'd still need spare parts. Why would I build a robot to swap parts, when I can simply put all of the spare parts into the telescope and swap over to them electronically?
- melling 5y agoKnowing what will go wrong is hard to predict. Having the capacity to have robots service satellites, etc would be extremely useful. Also, the vision is that robots can build on Mars, for example. “Simply” means fund the research. My comment was from 7 years ago. We also need the robots here on earth for dangerous tasks We’d make impressive progress over each decade with more effort.
- gwbas1c 5y ago> Why would I build a robot to swap parts, when I can simply put all of the spare parts into the telescope and swap over to them electronically? What if the system that swaps parts fails?
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- baggachipz 5y agoI remember when this telescope was first launched and deployed, and how its initial lackluster performance was a great source of mockery and derision of "government overspending for nothing" and a general disdain for space-based science. Since then, it has absolutely revolutionized our understanding of the universe and provided untold inspiration for millions (The famous Deep Field image being the prime example). It is a crowning achievement for NASA and should be used as an example any time some elected official questions the spending on research instruments like this.
- patrickthebold 5y agoI'm still anxious about the James Webb Space Telescope though. Fingers crossed.
- HenryKissinger 5y agoIf the rocket explodes on the launch pad, it will be a bad day. At the same time, it shouldn't take twenty years to build a space telescope, especially since it's not like it's the first one ever. The first atomic bomb was built in 4 years.
- wizzwizz4 5y agoThe first atomic bomb was nowhere near as precisely-built as the James Webb telescope has to be.
- scrozart 5y agoIt's not the first space-based observatory, but it's still a _wholly novel_ device, containing instrumentation designed by scientists and engineers in concert to leverage every piece of bleeding edge technology available at the time, and some throughout the process. Everyone of the flagship observatories is moon shot. It's not a mass-produced helicopter or missile. This project in particular is easily one of the wildest feats of science and engineering _ever_ just like Hubble, Cern, and LIGO. Regarding the bomb, we were trying to end a global conflict, so the comparison couldn't be further off base.
- awiesenhofer 5y agoThats great news! I wonder though, if there will ever be a need for another repair mission, could ie. Crew Dragon support such a mission or has that possibility passed with the retirement of the shuttles?
- blhack 5y agoDoes crew dragon have the appropriate airlock to allow for a spacewalk?
- jvzr 5y agoIn case it wasn't a rhetorical question, Crew Dragon does not have an airlock that would allow for a suited astronaut to leave the craft while maintaining atmosphere inside it. Plus, a big thing missing is a manipulator arm, such as Canadarm, which was used to capture the telescope, and essentially make the shuttle and telescope one body.
- nomadluap 5y agoI always thought it would be interesting if Spacex developed a "dragon utility module". It would launch in Dragon's trunk and consist of a docking port on one end, an airlock on the other, a miniature manipulator arm and a bunch of cargo mounted around the outside. After separating from the second stage the Dragon would flip around and dock to this module, which would give it all the extra bits needed for a mission like servicing the Hubble.
- mLuby 5y agoI don't think it does. But what's to stop the whole (limited) crew from suiting up (without MMUs), slowly venting the interior air, doing the EVA, then returning and re-pressurizing the atmosphere from interior tanks? My guess is it's just uncertified for that procedure, not that it's impossible. And there's no recourse if one of the suits fail.
- mikepurvis 5y ago
- zamalek 5y agoThe Hubble Telescope is a gift that keeps on giving. I'm starting to wonder if the thing will survive the heat/entropy death of the universe.
- ordu 5y ago> The PCU supplies a steady voltage supply to the payload computer and either it was supplying voltage outside the normal range or the sensor that detects the voltage was giving an erroneous reading. Swollen capacitors? =)
- javier10e6 5y agoAh! Another case of who police the police. The police police the police. Good news that the spare PCU took over and it was good. We all hope that the spare PCU was not part of an unlucky manufacturing batch. Great article.
- coldcode 5y agoIt's too bad you couldn't just leave a space shuttle in orbit, and then fly to it to use its arm when needed. Or build something like a repair "truck" that once launched, never comes back. You just load it with fuel and whatever you need, and drive it to where it's needed.
- p_l 5y agoBuran system had designs for that - one of the components was a nuclear-powered space tug that could shift satellites around, reducing launcher limitations. Design planned for endurance of 100 "LEO->GEO" satellite moves. Hypothetical Hubble with support for such operation would have docking port for the space tug, which could bring it back to orbit that could be taken by service vessel, then bring it back to proper orbit.
- giantrobot 5y agoThe Space Shuttle was powered by fuel cells rather than solar panels. It could only operate in space as long as it had oxygen and hydrogen available. So there was never an option to "leave one in space" as it could only last a couple weeks at best. There was a "space tug" concept out of MSFC in the 70s that was basically a capsule with some robot arms mounted on a service module. It would have acted as a repair truck as you say. It would have also been limited by consumables. Refueling in orbit is a non-trivial problem to solve. As is maintaining an orbital fuel depot. A tug and depot would only be able to service satellites in compatible orbits. So you might need to maintain dozens in orbit to service different orbital planes and altitudes.
- throwawayswede 5y agoI find the constant use of the term "glitch" in the title and the lack of actual details of what happened extremely infuriating. Here's some actual details: The problem: > NASA has identified the possible cause of the payload computer problem that suspended Hubble Space Telescope science operations on June 13. The telescope itself and science instruments remain healthy and in a safe configuration. The payload computer resides in the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling (SI C&DH) unit. It controls, coordinates, and monitors Hubble’s science instruments. When the payload computer halted, Hubble’s science instruments were automatically placed into a safe configuration. A series of multi-day tests, which included attempts to restart and reconfigure the computer and the backup computer, were not successful, but the information gathered from those activities has led the Hubble team to determine that the possible cause of the problem is in the Power Control Unit (PCU). The PCU also resides on the SI C&DH unit. It ensures a steady voltage supply to the payload computer’s hardware. The PCU contains a power regulator that provides a constant five volts of electricity to the payload computer and its memory. A secondary protection circuit senses the voltage levels leaving the power regulator. If the voltage falls below or exceeds allowable levels, this secondary circuit tells the payload computer that it should cease operations. The team’s analysis suggests that either the voltage level from the regulator is outside of acceptable levels (thereby tripping the secondary protection circuit), or the secondary protection circuit has degraded over time and is stuck in this inhibit state. Because no ground commands were able to reset the PCU, the Hubble team will be switching over to the backup side of the SI C&DH unit that contains the backup PCU. All testing of procedures for the switch and associated reviews have been completed, and NASA management has given approval to proceed. The switch will begin Thursday, July 15, and, if successful, it will take several days to completely return the observatory to normal science operations. The team performed a similar switch in 2008, which allowed Hubble to continue normal science operations after a Command Unit/Science Data Formatter (CU/SDF) module, another part of the SI C&DH, failed. A servicing mission in 2009 then replaced the entire SI C&DH unit, including the faulty CU/SDF module, with the SI C&DH unit currently in use. Launched in 1990, Hubble has been observing the universe for over 31 years. It has taken over 1.5 million observations of the universe, and over 18,000 scientific papers have been published with its data. It has contributed to some of the most significant discoveries of our cosmos, including the accelerating expansion of the universe, the evolution of galaxies over time, and the first atmospheric studies of planets beyond our solar system. Read more about some of Hubble’s greatest scientific discoveries. And the fix: > The switch included bringing online the backup Power Control Unit (PCU) and the backup Command Unit/Science Data Formatter (CU/SDF) on the other side of the Science Instrument and Command & Data Handling (SI C&DH) unit. The PCU distributes power to the SI C&DH components, and the CU/SDF sends and formats commands and data. In addition, other pieces of hardware onboard Hubble were switched to their alternate interfaces to connect to this backup side of the SI C&DH. Once these steps were completed, the backup payload computer on this same unit was turned on and loaded with flight software and brought up to normal operations mode. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/operations-underway-to-restore-payload-computer-on-nasas-hubble-space-telescope https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/operations-underwa...
- not2b 5y agoI hope that as we move more and more to commercial space development, we will continue to do the kinds of over-engineering and redundancy that make recovery efforts like this even possible, but fear that the mindset will shift: out of warranty, abandon it, we will sell you a new one.
- 2Gkashmiri 5y agoWhat is the power generation or storage on Hubble?
- freemint 5y agohttps://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/How_Hubble_got_its_wings https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Techn... Solar power
- krylon 5y agoI was 9 years old when Hubble was launched, today I am 40 years old, so it has been around for all of my adult life and then some. Also, it has provided lots and lots and lots of beautiful pictures that are stunning to look at even for people who otherwise do not care about astronomy at all. I think it's fair to say that no other project/mission/device since the Moon landing had a bigger impact in making astronomy "cool". The Hubble Deep Field pictures alone are breath-taking, and they may very well have had as much of an impact on our current model of the universe as Hubble's original discovery of an expanding universe, at least from the perspective of a non-scientist. As far as I can recall, Hubble was supposed to go down in flames quite a few years ago, but it just kept working, and no equivalent replacement was available. James Webb Space Telescope is not exactly a replacement, as it is an infrared telescope. It will be quite interesting to see how long they can keep Hubble working. It had a rough start, but the fact that after some initial corrections, it has lasted way longer than it was supposed to speaks of the quality of engineering that created it.
- ckosidows 5y agoWas Hubble big news when it launched? Asking because I'm 28 and was not alive on 1990.
- giantrobot 5y agoHubble or the "Space Telescope" was one of the Space Shuttle's major proposed missions and a major project at NASA in the 80s. Any books or magazine articles about the Shuttle often mentioned the then unnamed Space Telescope. As mentioned in other replies it was originally lambasted after launch for its flawed optics. The first servicing mission which fixed those problems got a lot of press attention, far more than its launch.
- mixmastamyk 5y agoYes, although it had well-known glitches after launch as well.
- krylon 5y agoI don't recall the launch as such, but in my memory, it was pretty popular throughout the 1990s. I don't have any first hand memories of the broken optics and the mission to put "glasses" on it, so I think it must have taken a while to become a household name, at least in Europe. Once the optics were corrected, though, it became very big. I once heard an astronomer say that there is pretty much no field in astronomy that did not benefit in some way from Hubble. And for lay people like me, lots of stunning pictures. :)
- odysseus 5y agoFinally, for fans of Weird Al Yankovic's White & Nerdy, an excuse to reference Norm Sherman's Pimp My Satellite, which is all about the Hubble: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMXk5Y7Gv6Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMXk5Y7Gv6Y
- 0898 5y agoSo it's "lease on life" rather than "lease of life"? Never knew that.
- mlindner 5y agoIt depends whether you're speaking British English or American English from my understanding. "New lease on life" is American English. I've never heard the "new lease of life" variant before but it's apparently used in the UK. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/new_lease_on_life https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/new_lease_on_life https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/new_lease_of_life https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/new_lease_of_life
- unnouinceput 5y agoSo it's seems that what I was predicting 22 days ago it's what they did in the end. Am I good or am I good: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27621537 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27621537
- peter303 5y agoI wonder why they deploy the Webb telescope near the ISS until its working, then send it to L2. It will never be repairable like the Hubble. The Webb should be launched by November, but I am not holding my breath.
- rdw 5y agoAs amazing as Hubble is, it's worth remembering that other agencies built several more devices of the same or better resolving capability, and the NRO donated two spares to NASA almost a decade ago [1][2]. Not sure what's happened with those devices since then. "Why build one when you can have three, at thrice the price?" [1] http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2116436,00.html http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2116436,0... [2] https://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/space-exploration/deep-space/nasa-hold-workshop-determine-donated-nro-telescopes/ https://www.spacesafetymagazine.com/space-exploration/deep-s...
- rdw 5y agoLooks like one of the NRO telescopes is being used in the Roman space telescope: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Grace_Roman_Space_Telescope https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Grace_Roman_Space_Telesc...
- teslaberry 5y agojames webb is coming!