<p class="title">NASA's famed Hubble Space Telescope has returned to normal operations and completed its first science observations after a failed orienting tool forced engineers to put it in safe mode earlier this month.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The observations were of the distant, star-forming galaxy DSF2237B-1-IR and were taken in infrared wavelengths with the Wide Field Camera 3 instrument, NASA said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The return on October 26 to conducting science comes after successfully recovering a backup gyroscope, or gyro, that had replaced a failed gyro three weeks earlier, it said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A gyro is a device that measures the speed at which the spacecraft is turning, which is necessary to help Hubble turn and lock on to new targets.</p>.<p class="bodytext">One of Hubble’s gyros failed on October 5, and the spacecraft's operations team activated a backup gyro the next day.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, the backup incorrectly returned rotation rates that were far in excess of the actual rates.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Last week the operations team commanded Hubble to perform numerous manoeuvres or turns, and switched the gyro between different operational modes, which successfully cleared what was believed to be a blockage between components inside the gyro that produced the excessively high rate values, NASA said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Next, the team monitored and tested the gyro with additional manoeuvres to make sure that the gyro was stable.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team then installed additional safeguards on the spacecraft in case the excessive rate values return, although this is not anticipated.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Thursday, the operations team conducted further manoeuvres to collect gyro calibration data.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Friday, Hubble performed activities similar to science observations, including rotating to point at different sky locations and locking on to test targets.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team completed all of these activities without issue, according to NASA.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team began the process to restore the scientific instruments to standard operating status on the same day.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hubble successfully completed manoeuvres to get on target for the first science observations, and the telescope collected its first science data since October 5.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hubble is now back in its normal science operations mode with three fully functional gyros.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Originally required to last 15 years, Hubble has now been at the forefront of scientific discovery for more than 28 years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team expects the telescope will continue to yield amazing discoveries well into the next decade, enabling it to work alongside the James Webb Space Telescope.</p>
<p class="title">NASA's famed Hubble Space Telescope has returned to normal operations and completed its first science observations after a failed orienting tool forced engineers to put it in safe mode earlier this month.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The observations were of the distant, star-forming galaxy DSF2237B-1-IR and were taken in infrared wavelengths with the Wide Field Camera 3 instrument, NASA said in a statement.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The return on October 26 to conducting science comes after successfully recovering a backup gyroscope, or gyro, that had replaced a failed gyro three weeks earlier, it said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A gyro is a device that measures the speed at which the spacecraft is turning, which is necessary to help Hubble turn and lock on to new targets.</p>.<p class="bodytext">One of Hubble’s gyros failed on October 5, and the spacecraft's operations team activated a backup gyro the next day.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, the backup incorrectly returned rotation rates that were far in excess of the actual rates.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Last week the operations team commanded Hubble to perform numerous manoeuvres or turns, and switched the gyro between different operational modes, which successfully cleared what was believed to be a blockage between components inside the gyro that produced the excessively high rate values, NASA said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Next, the team monitored and tested the gyro with additional manoeuvres to make sure that the gyro was stable.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team then installed additional safeguards on the spacecraft in case the excessive rate values return, although this is not anticipated.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Thursday, the operations team conducted further manoeuvres to collect gyro calibration data.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On Friday, Hubble performed activities similar to science observations, including rotating to point at different sky locations and locking on to test targets.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team completed all of these activities without issue, according to NASA.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team began the process to restore the scientific instruments to standard operating status on the same day.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hubble successfully completed manoeuvres to get on target for the first science observations, and the telescope collected its first science data since October 5.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Hubble is now back in its normal science operations mode with three fully functional gyros.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Originally required to last 15 years, Hubble has now been at the forefront of scientific discovery for more than 28 years.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The team expects the telescope will continue to yield amazing discoveries well into the next decade, enabling it to work alongside the James Webb Space Telescope.</p>