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Planetary News: Hubble Space Telescope (2007)

Hubble's Main Camera Shuts Down

January 30, 2007

Hubble Space Telescope
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Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope hovers at the boundary of Earth and space in this picture, taken from the Space Shuttle Discovery after Hubble's second servicing mission in 1997. Hubble drifts 353 miles (569 km) above the Earth's surface Credit: NASA

On Saturday January 27, Hubble’s main camera, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), stopped working. Until a solution, at least in part, can be found, Hubble will be returned to work with the remaining instruments.

The observatory entered a protective "safemode" condition Saturday at 7:34 a.m. EST. An initial investigation indicates the camera has stopped functioning, and the input power feed to its Side B electronics package has failed.

The instrument had been operating on its redundant electronics since June 30, 2006, when NASA engineers transitioned from the primary, Side A, electronics package due to a malfunction. Engineers currently are assessing the option to return ACS science operations to the primary electronics so that observations could resume in a reduced mode.

Hubble was recovered from safemode around 2 a.m. EST on January 28, and science observations will resume this week using the remaining Hubble instruments: Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, Near Infrared Camera Multi-Object Spectrograph, and the Fine Guidance Sensors.

In November 2006, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore selected a set of backup non-ACS science programs for use in case of a future ACS anomaly. These programs now will be inserted into the science schedule to maintain a highly productive observing program.

An Anomaly Review Board was appointed on January 29 to investigate the ACS anomaly. The board will perform a thorough investigation and assessment to decide the best course of action. The board is scheduled to present their findings and recommendations by March 2.

Hubble Ultra Deep Field
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Hubble Ultra Deep Field
Called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF), this million-second-long exposure reveals the first galaxies to emerge from the so-called "dark ages," the time shortly after the big bang when the first stars reheated the cold, dark universe. This view is actually two separate images taken by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-object Spectrometer (NICMOS). Both images reveal galaxies that are too faint to be seen by ground-based telescopes, or even in Hubble's previous faraway looks. Credit: NASA / ESA / S. Beckwith (STScI) and the HUDF Team

"It is too early to know what influences the ACS anomaly may have on Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission-4 planning" said Preston Burch, associate director/program manager for the Hubble Space Telescope. "It is important that the review board conduct a thorough investigation that will allow us to determine if there are any changes needed in the new instruments that will be installed on the upcoming servicing mission so that we can be sure of maximizing the telescope's scientific output. We are continuing to make excellent progress in our preparations for the servicing mission, which is presently targeted to fly in September 2008."

Installed in March 2002, the Advanced Camera for Surveys is the newest and most advanced camera on board Hubble, and the instrument most in demand by aastronomers. The third-generation instrument consists of three electronic cameras, filters, and dispersers that detect light from the ultraviolet to the near infrared.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency.