Gehrels/Swift space telescope enters safe mode
The Neil Gehrels Swift observatory ceased science observations and entered safe mode on January 18, 2021, when one of its six reaction wheels experienced a failure.
It appears the other five reaction wheels, which function as gyroscopes to point the telescope accurately, are working properly. If engineers can’t recover the lost wheel, the telescope will still be able to operate with no problems.
Swift was launch seventeen years ago in order to solve the mystery of gamma ray bursts, which it did most successful. The man who most made the observatory possible, its principal scientist, Neil Gehrels, passed away in 2017, and to honor his memory the telescope was then named after him.
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The Neil Gehrels Swift observatory ceased science observations and entered safe mode on January 18, 2021, when one of its six reaction wheels experienced a failure.
It appears the other five reaction wheels, which function as gyroscopes to point the telescope accurately, are working properly. If engineers can’t recover the lost wheel, the telescope will still be able to operate with no problems.
Swift was launch seventeen years ago in order to solve the mystery of gamma ray bursts, which it did most successful. The man who most made the observatory possible, its principal scientist, Neil Gehrels, passed away in 2017, and to honor his memory the telescope was then named after him.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
By my rough count that is around 9 reaction wheel failures since 1997.
Gary M. Reaction wheels are moving parts that, though the technology has improved, still fails to keep them running as long as one would like. Hubble’s six for example were replaced multiple times, including all six during the last servicing mission in 2009, and 12 years later it now sits with only three working, with at least one of those three questionable.
These last Hubble gyroscopes actually have done extremely well, lasting as long as they have.
This might provide some background–
Scott Manley (2018)
“Scientists May Have Figured Out Why So Many Spacecraft Were Failing”
https://youtu.be/KibT-PEMHUU
7:09
“In the last 20 years it’s been surprisingly common for space probes to end missions early because reaction wheels have failed, moreover there’s been a large number of failures associated with a specific supplier – Ithaco. ”
In the YT description Manely links to a PDF study done by United Technologies entitled:
“A Newly Discovered Branch of the fault Tree Explaining Systemic Reaction Wheel Failure and Anomalies “
“the mystery of gamma ray bursts, which it did most successful. ” As a test, I entered the quoted text into a Gmail message. Gmail underlined “successful”. Clicking on the underlined word results in an offer to change it to “successfully”. When did Gmail go beyond simple spell checking?
Willi – in Gmail’s settings, there are toggles for spell check, grammar suggestions, and autocorrect. Don’t know for sure when they were added.