--- title: "NASA’s Hubble Telescope Just Glitched Into Safe Mode, Whoops" description: "NASA's Hubble Space Telescope experienced an issue with its payload computer, forcing scientific operations to grind to a halt over the weekend." date: "2021-06-16" modified: "2021-06-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-hubble-telescope-software-glitch-safe-mode" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "hubble" - "hubble space telescope" - "NASA" - "the digest" --- # NASA’s Hubble Telescope Just Glitched Into Safe Mode, Whoops ![NASA's Hubble Space Telescope experienced an issue with its payload computer, forcing scientific operations to grind to a halt over the weekend.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Software Glitch NASA's Hubble Space Telescope experienced an issue with its payload computer, forcing scientific operations to grind to a halt into safe mode over the weekend, [according to NASA](). Scientists at the agency are planning to switch to a backup memory module some time today, and allow the computer to run for a day to make sure the issue gets resolved. If all goes according to plan, Hubble will be back online for normal science operations again. And yes, before you ask: Teams at NASA already tried to restart the payload computer, but encountered the same glitch. The aging space telescope was deployed from the space shuttle Discovery over three decades ago, on April 25, 1990. Since then, it has provided scientists a glorious and largely unobstructed view of the galaxy, allowing them to peer at stars some 13.4 billion light years away. ## Stayin' Alive The computer, a NASA Standard Spacecraft Computer 1 system, was put together in the 1980s, but fortunately, scientists included several levels of redundancy at the time to make sure scientific operations can go on. On Sunday, the payload computer, tasked with controlling and coordinating Hubble's science instruments, stopped receiving a "keep-alive" signal, a standard procedure to make sure the computer is in good shape. As a result, the computer automatically put all science instruments into a safe mode. It's not the first time a software error forced Hubble's instruments to enter a safe mode. In March, a glitch [forced the telescope to do the same](). So here's to hoping Hubble makes a full discovery. **READ MORE:** [Operations Underway to Restore Payload Computer on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope]() \[NASA\] **More on Hubble:** [*Software Glitch Shuts Down Hubble Space Telescope*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()