mo4ch:>Hubble loses main camera, unlikely to be repaired soon amid US govt shutdown | Mo4ch News

The Hubble Telescope lost its main instrument – Wide Field Camera 3 – due to an unspecified hardware problem. NASA engineers, however, are unlikely to address the satellite’s troubles immediately due to the government shutdown.Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 stopped working on Tuesday, NASA tweeted. The telescope continues to work with other instruments while the “anomaly” is investigated.The breakdown of the Wide Field Camera 3 might not have left Hubble without its main tool permanently, as the system has a back-up set of electronics which can be activated in case of a critical malfunction. So far, it remains unclear when (and if) the camera will be fixed.The ongoing government shutdown may throw a wrench into the works. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where Hubble’s mission is operated, is closed. In fact, only a handful of employees actively flying the telescope is allowed to work.The head of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Thomas Zurbuchen, said the br…