Hubble Space Telescope Status Report

Hubble engineers are encouraged by the recent restart attempt of the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer, or NICMOS, instrument, which has been inoperable since Sept. 10, 2008.Early on August 1, the HST team attempted another restart of the NICMOS Cooling System (NCS). The team experienced no issues after ramping up the NCS compressor to its nominal operational speed and said all parameters appear to be within an acceptable range.The NCS is slowly cooling the NICMOS detectors and it will take about three to four weeks for the system to reach its target operating temperature. Science observing can begin after the temperature is regulated at 77 degrees K (-321 degrees F), which the team believes will be in early September.