NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope suspends operations due to gyroscope issue

WASHINGTON

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope temporarily suspended operations, the US space agency announced Tuesday.

"NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope entered safe mode May 24 due to an ongoing gyroscope (gyro) issue, suspending science operations. Hubble’s instruments are stable, and the telescope is in good health," NASA said in a statement.

"The telescope automatically entered safe mode when one of its three gyroscopes gave faulty telemetry readings. Hubble’s gyros measure the telescope’s slew rates and are part of the system that determines and controls precisely the direction the telescope is pointed," it said.

The telescope that was launched in 1990 has been observing the universe for more than three decades.

"NASA anticipates Hubble will continue making discoveries throughout this decade and possibly into the next, working with other observatories, such as the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope for the benefit of humanity," said the statement.