NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has once again closed its amazing eye. This time, though, it may never open fully again.
On 27 January, an electrical short in the electronics of Hubble’s main camera, the Advanced Camera for Surveys, prompted it to go into protective “safe” mode. “Obviously, we’re very disappointed by this latest event because of the popularity of ACS with astronomers,” says Preston Burch of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The ACS was operating on backup power after its primary power had problems in June 2006. Now that the backup has failed, NASA will switch the…
