The Hubble Space Telescope has resumed science operations in single-gyro mode after one of its three remaining gyros was declared suspect.
The Hubble Space Telescope is back and better than ever!
Science operations resumed on Friday, June 15, 2024, albeit with what the Hubble team described as "minor limitations." Engineers plan to monitor the suspect gyro in hopes that it stabilizes and can be used again.
For now, however, Hubble is down to one gyroscope, with a second in reserve "for future use."
According to NASA, there is a 12 percent reduction in efficiency in operations during one-gyro mode due to the additional time required to lock onto a science target. The mode replaces the failed gyros for a multi-step process using the observatory's magnetometers, solar sensors, star trackers, fine-tuning sensors and a single working gyro to point the telescope.
