ACS Back Online
3 July 2006
The Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope was successfully reactivated on Friday 30 June 2006.NASA engineers successfully activated the Advanced Camera for Surveys at 12:54 UT 30 June and checkout was completed at 14:20 UT.
"This is the best possible news," said Ed Ruitberg, deputy associate director for the Astrophysics Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. "We were confident we could work through the camera issue, and now we can get back to doing more incredible science with the camera."
Engineers began uploading commands to the instrument on June 29 in an effort to restore operational status. A pre-programmed observing timeline for normal camera science operations began at approximately 00:00 UT, 3 July.
Engineers received indications on June 19 that power supply voltages were out of acceptable limits, causing the camera to stop functioning. The instrument was taken off line, so engineers could study the problem and determine the appropriate remedy. Hubble observations continued using other onboard science instruments.
The third-generation Hubble instrument consists of three electronic cameras, filters and dispersers that detect light from the ultraviolet to the near infrared. Astronauts installed the camera during a servicing mission in March 2002.