After a month of head-scratching, NASA engineers finally think they've identified the glitch that took out the world's most powerful space telescope�

NASA Is About to Try a 'Risky' Maneuver to Save Hubble, Which Is Still Offline

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2021-07-16 02:30:04

After a month of head-scratching, NASA engineers finally think they've identified the glitch that took out the world's most powerful space telescope more than a month ago.

The Hubble Space Telescope, which launched into orbit in 1990, has captured images of the births and deaths of stars, discovered new moons around Pluto, and tracked two interstellar objects as they zipped through our Solar System.

Its observations have allowed astronomers to calculate the age and expansion of the Universe and to peer at galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang.

But the telescope has been offline since June 13, when one of its main computers stopped working. NASA engineers have spent the last month running diagnostic tests and analyzing data, and on Wednesday the agency announced that they may have finally traced the problem to a faulty power regulator.

With some confidence that they've pinpointed the glitchy component, the Hubble troubleshooters are preparing to switch to the telescope's backup hardware on Thursday. That could return it to its science observations within a few days.