---
title: "NASA Says It’s Still Trying to Fix Damaged Hubble"
description: "NASA scientists are still furiously trying to fix the main payload computer onboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. But they may be closer to finding a fix."
date: "2021-06-23"
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-still-trying-to-fix-damaged-hubble"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "hubble"
  - "hubble space telescope"
  - "NASA"
  - "space shuttle"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA Says It’s Still Trying to Fix Damaged Hubble

![NASA scientists are still furiously trying to fix the main payload computer onboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. But they may be closer to finding a fix.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/nasa-still-trying-to-fix-damaged-hubble.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Off and On Again

NASA scientists are still furiously [trying to fix](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/operations-underway-to-restore-payload-computer-on-nasas-hubble-space-telescope>) the main payload computer onboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

A serious glitch with the telescope's payload computer put the Hubble's various scientific instruments into a safe mode configuration last week.

Since then, the team has [tried and failed to remotely revive](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hubble-dead-forever>) the computer, which was built in in the 1980s, at least three times.

Now, the scientists suspect the computer's memory modules, originally suspected to be the culprit, may not be the issue after all. According to a [Tuesday update](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/operations-underway-to-restore-payload-computer-on-nasas-hubble-space-telescope>), engineers are now investigating whether the module that bridges communications between the computer's various components may be at fault instead.

Fortunately, not all is lost — even if it turns out the main payload computer is toast — all thanks to the bright minds who designed the telescope well over 30 years ago.

## Backup Strategy

The team is giving itself some more time to investigate the payload computer issue, but may have to resort to the Hubble's onboard backup computer.

According to NASA, this backup computer hasn't been powered on since its installation in 2009. Back then, a crew of seven visited the Hubble space telescope on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis to install new instruments and battery unit modules, as well as making some repairs.

The mission was the fifth and last time the telescope has been serviced in person.

But two years later, NASA retired the Space Shuttle, meaning a future trip to the telescope is anything but certain. The agency currently has no spacecraft in its fleet capable of servicing the telescope.

If NASA's attempts to revive the onboard computer or its backup fail, a device installed during the 2009 mission could allow Hubble to steer itself into the Earth's atmosphere to burn up upon reentry — an unfortunate end to a telescope that has brought us a wealth of insights into the observable universe.

**READ MORE:** [Operations Underway to Restore Payload Computer on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/operations-underway-to-restore-payload-computer-on-nasas-hubble-space-telescope>) \[NASA\]

**More on Hubble:** *[It's Looking Possible That the Hubble Is Dead Forever](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/hubble-dead-forever>)*

## 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](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)