Hubble Is In Safe Mode As Gyroscope Issues Are Diagnosed, NASA

"The gyro that failed had been exhibiting end-of-life behavior for approximately a year, and its failure was not unexpected; two other gyros of the same type had already failed. The remaining three gyros available for use are technically enhanced and therefore expected to have significantly longer operational lives. Two of those enhanced gyros are currently running. Upon powering on the third enhanced gyro that had been held in reserve, analysis of spacecraft telemetry indicated that it was not performing at the level required for operations. As a result, Hubble remains in safe mode. Staff at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and the Space Telescope Science Institute are currently performing analyses and tests to determine what options are available to recover the gyro to operational performance."

Keith's 7 October note: According to these tweets from Dr. Rachel Osten, Deputy Mission Head for the Hubble Space Telescope at the Space Telescope Science Institute, the Hubble Space Telescope is in Safe Mode after a gyroscope failure. No word from NASA PAO yet.

Keith's 8 October 9:21 am EDT update: According to According to this update: "Daily Report #8120 Period Covered: 08:00 PM October 06, 2018 - 07:59 PM October 07, 2018 (DOY 280/0000z - 280/2359z) There were no scheduled observations during the report period."

It's true. Very stressful weekend. Right now HST is in safe mode while we figure out what to do. Another gyro failed. First step is try to bring back the last gyro, which had been off, and is being problematic. — Dr. Rachel Osten (@rachelosten) October 8, 2018 Not really scary, we knew it was coming. The gyro lasted about six months longer than we thought it would (almost pulled the plug on it back in the spring). We'll work through the issues and be back. — Dr. Rachel Osten (@rachelosten) October 8, 2018