---
title: "Software Glitch Shuts Down Hubble Space Telescope"
description: "NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has encountered a software glitch and had to put itself into a protective \"safe mode\" over the weekend."
date: "2021-03-09"
modified: "2021-03-09"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/software-glitch-shuts-down-hubble-space-telescope"
categories:
  - "Science & Energy"
tags:
  - "hubble"
  - "hubble space telescope"
  - "NASA"
  - "Space Telescope"
  - "the digest"
---

# Software Glitch Shuts Down Hubble Space Telescope

![NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has encountered a software glitch and had to put itself into a protective "safe mode" over the weekend.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/software-glitch-shuts-down-hubble-space-telescope.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: NASA\</em\>*

## Safe Mode

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has encountered a software glitch and had to put itself into a protective "safe mode" over the weekend, [*Space.com* reports](<https://www.space.com/hubble-space-telescope-safe-mode-march-2021>).

In the early morning hours of Sunday, "the Hubble Space Telescope went into safe mode due to an onboard software error," reads [a tweet](<https://twitter.com/NASAHubble/status/1368735254769528834>) by the telescope's official Twitter account.

"All science systems appear normal and Hubble is safe and stable," the statement continues. "The team is working plans to safely return it to normal science operations."

## Standby

For 30 years now, Hubble has been delivering incredible images of the known universe.

Following a gyroscope failure in October 2018 however, the space telescope had to switch on a backup gyroscope from standby mode. This new gyroscope, designed to help the space telescope point at the right direction, did not come online properly, forcing Hubble to go into a similar "safe mode."

After three weeks, though, Hubble managed to solve its gyroscope issue and [become fully operational](<https://futurism.com/hubble-incredible-picture-after-gyroscope-failure>) once more.

Hopefully the industrious telescope will make it through this hiccup and keep astronomers on their toes for decades to come.

**READ MORE:** [Hubble Space Telescope in safe mode after software glitch](<https://www.space.com/hubble-space-telescope-safe-mode-march-2021>) \[*Space.com*\]

**More on Hubble:** *[Hubble Takes Another Incredible Picture After Gyroscope Failure](<https://futurism.com/hubble-incredible-picture-after-gyroscope-failure>)*

## 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>)