The Hubble Space Telescope is experiencing computer problems and cannot store data.

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, Washington – Computer problems affecting the operation of the Hubble Space Telescope continued this week. The US space agency (NASA) is preparing to turn to spare hardware to fix the problem.

Reported from Digital trendsOn Sunday (4/7), payload computers, which control the scientific instruments used to orbit telescopes, were launched in late June. Offline. When this happens, all devices automatically enter safe mode. This means all devices must be healthy and functional, but do not currently collect data.

The NASA team on the field made several repairs, trying to figure out exactly what was actually causing the problem. The latest update from NASA confirms that the problem is with the science instrument command and data handling unit (SIC & DH). Errors in that category cause some hardware to crash.

NASA explains the next steps in the update: “The Command Unit / Science Data Formatter (CU / SDF) team, which sends and format commands and data, is currently conducting research. They also focused on the power regulator inside the power control unit, which is designed to ensure a constant voltage supply to the computer hardware loads. ”

If any of these systems become problematic, the solution is to switch from an existing unit to a spare one. Most Hubble hardware has a master and backup version, so teams can switch from one device to another if something goes wrong with any of the hardware.

However, converting to a spare unit is a complex process. Due to the way the system is connected, some hardware must be turned off before switching on the backup CU / SDF or power regulator.

The team is preparing to switch to hardware backups this week, including testing the switching process with a simulator. The good news is that this is not the first time such a procedure has been performed.

“In 2008 the team made a similar switch, which allowed Hubble to resume normal scientific operations following the failure of the CU / SDF module,” NASA wrote.

The Service Mission in 2009 replaced all SIC & DH units with existing SIC & DH units, including the defective CU / SDF module.