Replacement Hubble Camera Found to Be Ready for Service
The replacement camera for the Hubble Space Telescope is properly focused and will not have to be returned to Maryland for further tests as feared last week, NASA said Sunday.
A test of the camera last month indicated that the instrument was out of focus, despite earlier, more precise checks that found everything in order.
Engineers and opticians at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., discovered over the weekend that the problem was with the test.
In December, spacewalking astronauts are to replace Hubble’s wide field and planetary camera with this upgraded instrument. They also are to install corrective lenses, solar panels, gyroscopes and other telescope components.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched Hubble in 1990 with an improperly ground mirror.
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