NASA brings Hubble space telescope back to life after 7 year hibernation

Washington, Oct 24: NASA's famed Hubble Space Telescope is nearly back to normal after a failed orienting tool forced engineers to put it in safe mode earlier this month, the US space agency said.

Hubble in safe mode after gyro failure:

Hubble was pushed into safe mode on October 5 after a gyroscope - used to help the telescope turn and lock on to new targets - stopped working, said NASA.

How did NASA fix it?

To replace it, NASA engineers powered up a backup gyroscope that had been dormant since early 2011. They were heartened, at first. The gyroscope began spinning despite not being used for 7½ years. However, it sent back readings that were clearly too high. An attempt to revive the gyroscope by turning it in the opposite direction appears to have cleared any blockage, NASA reported late Monday.

About Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit in 1990, becoming the first major optical telescope placed in space. Over the past 28 years, Hubble has streamed back key data on subjects such as dark matter and how planets form.

NASA has been developing a new telescope, the $8 billion James Webb Space Telescope, that will be able to see back in time, almost to the beginning of the universe.