NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (NASA)
NASA’s Hubble space telescope has suffered a camera glitch after software was incorrectly loaded onto one of its key instruments.
Operation of the famous telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys has been suspended while scientists attempt to fix the problem.
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In a statement released Mar. 1, NASA explained that the error was detected during a “routine boot procedure” on Feb. 28. “The error indicated that software inside the camera had not loaded correctly. A team of instrument system engineers, flight software experts and flight operations personnel quickly organized to download and analyze instrument diagnostic information,” it said.
Despite the glitch, the telescope continues to operate normally, according to NASA's statement, with its Wide Field Camera 3, Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph all “performing nominally.”
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"The team is still running tests and working to isolate the cause," of the glitch, a NASA spokeswoman told Fox News, via email on Tuesday.
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1990. NASA notes that the orbiting telescope was required to last 15 years, but has been in operation for more than 28. The Advanced Camera for Surveys was installed in 2002 but suffered a power supply failure in 2007. It was repaired by astronauts during a servicing mission in 2009.
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NASA partners with the European Space Agency on the telescope which is managed from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Fox News’ Zoe Szathmary contributed to this article.
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