I’m a sucker for pretty astronomical images, and the Hubble Space Telescope does not disappoint. In fact, early images from Hubble are a major part of what got me so excited about astronomy in the first place. I was quite bummed when Hubble was down last month, but you can imagine my excitement now that it’s up and running.
As you’ve probably heard by now, the fifth (and final) Hubble servicing mission launch date has been pushed back again. Two months ago it was scheduled for October 14. Then, in late September, the data-handling hardware failed. As a result, the October launch was pushed to a February 2009 launch. And now that date has been pushed further out.
To quickly refresh your memory, the instrument that supports the transfer of science data to the ground stopped working September 27. Engineers had to switch the Science Data Formatter, and five other modules, to their “B side.” Thank goodness this switch worked. Engineers hadn’t activated these modules since the late 1980s and early 1990s (prior to Hubble’s launch). Now the plan is to fly a back up replacement system to Hubble during the fifth servicing mission. The reason for the most recent rescheduling is that the replacement system is a good 17 or so years old. This means scientists need to thoroughly test the system before the servicing mission.
It sounds like the fifth servicing mission may be rescheduled for late spring. What excites me is the servicing mission is expected to prolong Hubble’s life until at least 2014! That’s at least 5 years for Hubble to inspire the world’s youth to ponder the universe — and maybe even convince them to pursue astronomy as a career.