Hubble telescope fails, NASA may delay shuttleCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Hubble Space Telescope has stopped sending science data, forcing NASA to regroup and possibly delay the space shuttle mission planned in just two weeks to upgrade the telescope.
The system that failed Saturday night means the telescope is unable to capture and beam down the data needed to produce its stunning deep space images, officials said Monday.
A team of astronauts has been preparing to blast off on the space shuttle Atlantis on Oct. 14 to make other repairs and upgrades. But the data transmission breakdown is a brand new problem.
NASA is reviewing whether the mission should be delayed a couple of months so that plans can be made to send up a replacement part for the failed component, said NASA spokesman Michael Curie.
It would take time to test and qualify the old replacement part and train the astronauts to install it in the telescope, Curie said. NASA also would have to work out new mission details for the astronauts who have trained for two years to carry out five Hubble repair spacewalks.
"The teams are always looking at contingencies, and this is just something that has cropped up we have the ability to deal with. They're just trying to decide what direction we want to go," he said.
There is a backup channel for the science instruments' command and data-handling system, and NASA may be able to activate it successfully so that data transmission resumes, Curie said. But if NASA relies solely on the backup channel, there would be no other options if it malfunctioned.
"They're looking at all the different possibilities," he added.
Curie stressed that the telescope is not in trouble; it's just that it cannot send science information to ground controllers. That means NASA is unable to receive the dramatic pictures Hubble is known for.
The mission by Atlantis and a seven-person crew would be the fifth and final servicing mission to Hubble.