The latest, strongest space telescope out there’s again to work after a glitch blocked a number of days’ price of science observations.
Mission personnel behind the James Webb Space Telescope (Webb or JWST) spent about two weeks battling a glitch that first appeared on Dec. 7, in line with a NASA statement (opens in new tab). In line with NASA officers, the glitch by no means threatened the telescope, and regular operations resumed on Tuesday (Dec. 20).
“The observatory and devices are all in good well being, and weren’t in any hazard whereas Webb’s onboard fault administration system labored as anticipated to maintain the {hardware} secure,” NASA officers wrote.
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JWST will mark one full yr in space on Sunday (Dec. 25). It started science operations in July. Beforehand this yr, the observatory has confronted two different points: In Could, a micrometeoroid impact triggered slightly extra injury than environmental fashions had predicted was doubtless, and in August the observatory’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) skilled an issue with one of its four observing modes.
Nonetheless, the current concern seems to be the primary that has paused all science operations, throughout the observatory.
In line with NASA, the difficulty started on Dec. 7, when JWST’s perspective management system, which retains the observatory protected against the sun and in a position to attain Earth, skilled a software program glitch. The glitch despatched the telescope into secure mode, a state by which a spacecraft turns off nonessential methods and hunkers down in a steady configuration whereas ready for engineers to research a difficulty.
The observatory entered secure mode and recovered from it a number of instances within the following days, the NASA assertion implies.
“This occasion resulted in a number of pauses to science operations totaling just a few days over that point interval,” officers wrote. “Science proceeded in any other case throughout that point.” (The observations JWST missed can be rescheduled the place potential, officers famous.)
The difficulty is now underneath management, in line with the assertion, after mission personnel “adjusted the commanding system.” Regular operations resumed on Tuesday (Dec. 20), simply in time for the telescope to mark its first anniversary in space.
Electronic mail Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or observe her on Twitter @meghanbartels. Observe us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
