From NASA
The Hubble Space Telescope is deployed from the space shuttle Discovery on April 25, 1990. Hubble avoids distorting the atmosphere and has an unobstructed view of planets, stars and galaxies, some of which are more than 13.4 billion light years away. Credits: NASA / Smithsonian Institution / Lockheed Corporation
June 22, 2021 – Tests are underway to identify the problem and restore NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope payload computer
NASA continues to work to fix an issue with the Hubble Space Telescope’s payload computer that was halted on June 13th. After testing multiple memory modules on the computer, the results suggest that some other computer hardware might be causing the problem, with memory errors being just a symptom. The operations team investigates whether the Standard Interface (STINT) hardware, which bridges the communication between the computer’s Central Processing Module (CPM) and other components, or the CPM itself is responsible for the problem. The team is currently developing tests that will be run over the next few days to try to further isolate the problem and identify a possible solution.
This step is important in determining which hardware is still working properly for future references. If the payload computer problem cannot be resolved, the operations team is ready to upgrade to the STINT and CPM hardware on board the backup payload computer. The team has conducted ground tests and operational procedures reviews to verify any commands required to perform this switch on the spacecraft.
With the backup payload computer’s CPM and STINT hardware turned on, it will take several days to assess computer performance and restore normal scientific operations. The backup computer has not been turned on since it was installed in 2009; however, it was thoroughly tested on the ground before being installed on the spacecraft.
The payload computer is a NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer-1 (NSSC-1) system built in the 1980s and located on the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling (SI C&DH) unit. After 18 years in orbit, the original SI C&DH suffered a failure in 2008 that delayed the final maintenance mission to Hubble while a replacement was being prepared for flight. In May 2009, STS-125 was launched and the astronauts installed the existing unit. The replacement includes original hardware from the 1980s with four independent 64K memory modules made from Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) memory. Only one memory module is used during operation, the other three serve as a backup. All four modules can be used and accessed by any of the redundant payload computers.
Hubble was founded in 1990 and has been in operation for more than 30 years, and has made observations that have sparked our imaginations and deepened our knowledge of the cosmos around the world.
For more information about the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling unit, see the following PDF file:
Extract from the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit
June 18, 2021 – NASA Hubble Space Telescope payload computer recovery operations continue
NASA continues to work on solving an issue with the Hubble Space Telescope’s payload computer. The operations team will run tests and collect more information about the system to further isolate the problem. The scientific instruments will stay in Safe Mode until the problem is resolved. The telescope itself and the scientific instruments remain in good condition.
The computer was paused on Sunday, June 13th. An attempt to restart the computer on Monday June 14th failed. However, when the operations team tried to switch to a backup storage module, the command to initiate the backup module failed. Another attempt was made on both modules on Thursday evening to get more diagnostic information while trying again to bring these memory modules online. However, these attempts were unsuccessful.
The payload computer is a NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer-1 (NSSC-1) system built in the 1980s and located on the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit. The purpose of the computer is to control and coordinate the scientific instruments and to monitor them for health and safety purposes. It is completely redundant in that there is a second computer and associated hardware in orbit, which can be switched to in the event of a problem. Both computers can access and use each of four independent memory modules, each of which contains 64K of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) memory. The payload computer uses only one memory module at a time, the other three serve as a backup.
Hubble was founded in 1990 and has been a major contributor to our understanding of the universe over the past 30 years.
More information about Hubble can be found at: www.nasa.gov/hubble
June 16, 2021 – NASA is working to resolve an issue with the Hubble Space Telescope’s payload computer
NASA is working to resolve an issue with the Hubble Space Telescope’s payload computer. The computer stopped shortly after 4 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 13th. After analyzing the data, the Hubble operations team investigates whether a deteriorating memory module has caused the computer to stall. The team is preparing to switch to one of several backup modules on Wednesday, June 16. The computer will then run for about a day to see if the problem has been resolved. The team would then restart all scientific instruments and return the telescope to normal scientific operation.
The payload computer has the task of controlling and coordinating the scientific instruments on board the spacecraft. After the stop on Sunday, the main computer no longer received a “keep-alive” signal, which is a standard handshake between the payload and the spacecraft’s main computers to indicate that everything is in order. The main computer then automatically placed all scientific instruments in a safe mode configuration. Personnel at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center control center in Greenbelt, Maryland restarted the payload computer on Monday, June 14, but the same problem soon emerged.
The payload computer is a NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer-1 (NSSC-1) system that was built in the 1980s. It is part of the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling module that was replaced during the last astronaut maintenance mission in 2009. The module has various levels of redundancy that can be switched on as the primary system if required.
More information about Hubble can be found at: www.nasa.gov/hubble
Like this:
Loading…
Comments are closed.