 |
|
|
Goddard
Space Flight Center
Status Report
Release: 02-051
Fri
| Apr. 5, 2002
HUBBLE ON ITS WAY TO FULL SCIENCE OPERATIONS
After three weeks of in-orbit checkout, following
its deployment from Space Shuttle Columbia on March 9, the
Hubble Space Telescope has been declared healthy and fit by
engineers and scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
in Greenbelt, Md., and the Space Telescope Science Institute
in Baltimore.
Solar Arrays and Power
Initial checkout of the spacecraft and instruments has largely
been completed. However, the calibration process for the instruments
will continue for another two months. The new rigid solar
arrays, coupled with the new Power Control Unit, are working
perfectly, generating 27 percent more electrical power than
the old arrays. This increase in power roughly doubles the
power available to the scientific instruments. The new reaction
wheel is operating normally.
New Camera - ACS
The powerful new Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) is now
undergoing its final optical alignment and focus checks. The
image quality of individual stars observed in a standard calibration
field is excellent. The Advanced Camera's light-sensing detectors
are also working very well. It is anticipated that the first
Early Release Observations of astronomical targets taken with
the Advanced Camera for Surveys will be available around the
first week in May.
NICMOS Cooling System
The new, high-tech mechanical cooler inserted by the Astronauts
during SM3B has been working continuously and properly since
March 18. The cooler's intended purpose is to attempt to resuscitate
the dormant Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer
(NICMOS), which depleted its expendable solid nitrogen coolant
in January 1999.
Although this new "refrigerator", dubbed the NICMOS Cooling
System (NCS), has been reliably generating the amount of cooling
power expected, Hubble engineers report that the NICMOS instrument
is cooling down more slowly than originally expected. Because
it will take longer to reach the proper operating temperature,
below approximately 80 degrees Kelvin, the initial checkout
and scientific observations with NICMOS will be delayed for
several weeks.
Routine science observations have now resumed with the Space
Telescope Imaging Spectrograph and the Wide Field and Planetary
Camera 2, the two instruments that were operating on Hubble
prior to Servicing Mission 3B.
On another note, a gyro (Gyro 3) that had not been performing
as well as it should prior to the mission resumed perfect
operation after it was turned off and re-started while Hubble
was in Columbia's payload bay.
|
|
|
|
|
>
