Primary camera shuts down on Hubble telescope
The primary camera on the Hubble Space Telescope has shut down and is likely to be only marginally restored, Nasa said, a collapse one US astronomer called a "great loss".
While other scientific work can still be done by the ageing observatory, the unit that failed, the Advanced Camera for Surveys, is the one most scientists depend upon.
Nasa scientists say they expect to be able to restore just one-third of its observation ability, probably by mid-February.
“We’re not optimistic at all” about returning it to full function, said Dave Leckrone, a senior scientist on the Hubble at Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Washington.
Astronomer Mario Livio at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Washington, which co-ordinates use of the Hubble by the scientific community, said the Hubble’s primary camera was a “serious workhorse,” but astronomers can fall back on Hubble’s other instruments.
“So, clearly the observations will continue, science will continue, but it’s a great loss, no doubt. It’s a great loss because this was a fantastic camera that just produced incredible science,” Livio said.
Nasa plans to have space shuttle astronauts repair and upgrade the 16-year-old telescope on a mission next year. Leckrone says new instruments that will be installed will exceed the capabilities of the current system.
The Hubble’s main camera shut down over the weekend, the third outage in less than a year for the instrument. An initial investigation determined its backup power supply had failed, Nasa said.
Installed during a March 2002 servicing mission, the Advanced Camera for Surveys increased Hubble’s vision and has provided the clearest pictures yet of galaxy formation in the very early universe. The instrument consists of three electronic cameras, filters and dispersers that detect light from the ultraviolet to the near infrared.
It was the most heavily in demand from the astronomical community and accounted for two-thirds of the latest proposals for observing time on the Hubble, said Preston Burch, associate director and programme manager for the Hubble Space Telescope at Goddard.
The ACS had been switched over to a backup power supply in June when its main power supply malfunctioned. In September, it automatically shut down again as operators were switching between two of its three instruments. Investigators believe debris stuck in a switch caused a voltage drop that shut down the instrument.
"I think it’s important to remember that ACS was designed to work for five years. That’s typically the design life of most of these instruments and it’s pretty well met that,“ Burch said.
