- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
- Hong Kong's New World Development replaces CEO Adrian Cheng
- Swiss central bank cuts rate again amid strong franc worries
- Germany's BASF to focus on 'core units' in major overhaul
- China admits economy facing new 'problems', vows to fix property sector
- Stock markets boosted by China hopes, tech rally
- Bangladesh revolution sparks new hopes among Rohingya
Hubble trouble: Veteran space telescope forced to take it easy
The venerable Hubble Space Telescope, which has revolutionized astronomical discovery since its launch in 1990, will ease into retirement with a scaled-back observing schedule, NASA officials said Tuesday.
One of the three gyroscopes that control the direction in which the telescope points has become unstable in recent months, leading to intermittent "safe mode" episodes -- most recently on May 24.
"After completing a series of tests and carefully considering our options, we have made the decision that we will transition Hubble to operate using only one of its three remaining gyros," said NASA's Mark Clampin, director of the astrophysics division.
The other gyro will be kept powered up in reserve for potential future use.
The transition, which should be completed by mid-June, will reduce Hubble's efficiency at carrying out science observations by 12 percent, dropping from 85 orbits a week to 74, said Patrick Crouse, project manager for the Hubble Space Telescope mission.
Over the course of a year, it will still be able to view the full night sky. It will no longer be able to track objects that are closer than Mars -- though such targets were rare anyway, added Crouse.
NASA calculates there is a greater than 70 percent chance of operating with this configuration through 2035. At the end of the telescope's life, the US space agency plans to safely de-orbit or otherwise dispose of the popular science instrument.
"We do not see Hubble as being on its last legs, we do think it's a very capable observatory, (poised) to do exciting science with other observatories in orbit and those that will join us in orbit," said Crouse.
- Most distant star -
Named for astronomer Edwin Hubble, the telescope was launched in 1990 and operates about 320 miles (515 kilometers) above Earth.
Between 1993 and 2009 astronauts visited Hubble five times on repair missions.
NASA and SpaceX previously said they were studying a possible mission that would re-boost Hubble's orbit, which gradually decays over time due to Earth's gravitational pull, and part of that review also considered ways to mitigate against the loss of gyros.
But Clampin said ideas of adding extra gyros to the outside of the telescope were "just notional concepts -- we never even got to the point of actually looking at what that would look like, and how we would do that."
Arguably among the most valuable instruments in scientific history, Hubble continues to make important discoveries, including in 2022 when it detected the farthest individual star ever seen -- Earendel, whose light took 12.9 billion years to reach us.
Clampin said despite its diminished capacity, Hubble keeps performing a "breadth of great science," from investigating objects in our solar system to studying early galaxies to collaborating with the newer James Webb Space Telescope to probe the atmospheres of exoplanets.
While Webb, now the premier space telescope, excels in infrared detection, Hubble's primary focus on visible light provides a complementary capability, enhancing their combined scientific impact.
Ch.Lefebvre--CPN