NASA is trying a ‘risky’ fix for the ageing Hubble Space Telescope

By Matthew Sparkes

NASA will attempt what has been described as a “risky” fix for the Hubble Space Telescope after several weeks of troubleshooting following an unexpected shutdown.

Spacecraft tend to use tried-and-tested technology and some of Hubble’s computer systems date back to the 1970s. The telescope’s payload computer is a custom-designed NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer-1 developed in 1974. This machine stopped communicating with the telescope’s main computer and caused a “safe mode” shutdown on 13th June.

Since then, NASA engineers have been conducting tests and switching …