RIP Hubble Space Telescope... :-(

Engineers have restored the science instruments aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, after a glitch took them offline. Astronomers can now begin collecting data for the first time since 13 June, when a computer stopped working. Last week, engineers began switching over to backup hardware, in a bid to get one of the most important research tools in history up and running again.

It's the worst malfunction in years to hit the venerated observatory. "Hubble is an icon, giving us incredible insight into the cosmos over the past three decades," said Nasa's administrator Bill Nelson.

"I'm proud of the Hubble team, from current members to Hubble alumni who stepped in to lend their support and expertise. Thanks to their dedication and thoughtful work, Hubble will continue to build on its 31-year legacy, broadening our horizons with its view of the Universe."

For about a month, Hubble's team of experts has been investigating the cause of a problem with the payload computer, which helps control the onboard science instruments.

... The sunshield plays a vital role for the telescope. It blocks solar radiation and helps keep the telescope ultra-cold — cold enough to pick up infrared light coming from the earliest galaxies to form after the Big Bang, too faint even for Hubble to see.

If anything went wrong during the sunshield's deployment, it could doom a telescope that had been in the works for decades, and which had already faced years of criticism for rising costs and long delays. The relief was palpable just before noon when the call came down that all five layers had been pulled fully taut.

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Several steps remain in the telescope's deployment process in the coming days, including the deploying of the telescope's primary and secondary mirrors. That process will likely start in earnest this weekend, mission officials said, and should take about 10 days.

The telescope is en route to its job site, a spot roughly a million miles from Earth, where it will sit in a solar orbit held stable by the gravitational tug of both the Earth and the Sun. Once it's fully up and running, it will observe early stars and galaxies and search for "biosignatures" in the atmospheres of distant planets that could be friendly to life.