Astronomy, Stellar, Planetary News
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
NASA working to fix space station's NICER X-ray telescope
NASA working to fix space station's NICER X-ray telescope
by Mike Heuer
Washington DC (UPI) Jun 24, 2025

The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer X-ray telescope has a bad motor that paused its tracking of cosmic objects until NASA engineers can fix it.

NASA engineers are working to fix the problem after pausing the telescope's operations on June 17, when its ability to track celestial objects degraded, according to NASA.

The space agency did not say when the telescope might resume working.

The telescope is mounted on the International Space Station near its starboard solar array and has been in use since 2017.

It can measure neutron stars, identify black holes, active galaxies and other phenomena. It also can help to map routes to Mars for future exploration and other missions.

The latest issue with the NICER telescope is among many that it has experienced since its 2017 deployment.

The NICER telescope developed a light leak in May 2023 when several thin thermal shields were damaged and let in sunlight that made the telescope useless during daylight hours.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague in January installed nine patches to fix the worst areas of damage, but some light interference continued to affect the telescope's performance.

A closer inspection showed several smaller cracks and holes that still allowed light to enter the telescope.

NASA engineers reconfigured the telescope's measurement-power unit to compensate for the light intrusion, which enabled the telescope to resume its normal operations on March 12.

Additional damage to at least one thermal shield forced NASA to minimize daytime observations on May 22, which caused another modification in the telescope's use.

X-ray telescopes, like the NICER, enable NASA scientists to study and better understand extreme radio events in space.

Observations from the NICER telescope and a Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array that is in low-Earth orbit enabled NASA scientists to assess a rapid burst of radio waves from a dead star called a magnetar in 2020.

The burst released as much energy in a fraction of a second as the sun does during an entire year, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

The powerful energy burst produced a laser-like beam instead of an explosion.

NASA scientists in October 2022 used the same two telescopes to observe another burst of radio waves from the same magnetar.

Related Links
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Space telescope Gaia sent into 'retirement' but legacy endures
Paris (AFP) Mar 27, 2025
Europe's Gaia space telescope was powered down and sent into "retirement" on Thursday after a decade revealing the secrets of the Milky Way, but its observations will fuel discoveries for decades to come. Since launching in 2013, the telescope has been charting the positions, motion and properties of nearly two billion stars to create an unparalleled map of our home galaxy, according to the European Space Agency. Gaia has been peering into the universe from a stable orbit 1.5 million kilometres ... read more

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Unexpected Dust Patterns Found on Uranus Moons Confound Scientists

SwRI study shows Europa's icy surface constantly reshaping

The hunt for mysterious 'Planet Nine' offers up a surprise

Jupiter Was Formerly Twice Its Current Size and Had a Much Stronger Magnetic Field

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Meteorite amino acid triggers nanocavity formation in common clay

James Webb reveals sub-Saturn mass exoplanet in young star system

Earth-sized planets commonly found around smallest stars reveals CARMENES data

Earth sized planets frequently orbit red dwarf stars study finds

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Perseverance reveals clay minerals and sets distance record in Martian exploration

Thick Martian clays may have formed in stable ancient lakebeds

European students complete immersive analog Mars mission in Portugal

Growing Homes On Mars: TAMU Research Pioneers Autonomous Construction Using Synthetic Lichens

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Halogen clues shed light on lunar crust evolution

High precision LLNL telescope to drive next generation lunar imaging

Japan's ispace blames 'hard landing' on moon on Laser Range Finder

Chinese 3D printing system uses lunar soil to construct habitats

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
LHAASO reveals hidden cosmic engines in high-energy Milky Way survey

Mini halo found around distant galaxy cluster reveals early cosmic particle activity

NASA working to fix space station's NICER X-ray telescope

Rice researchers search for ultralight dark matter using a magnetically levitated particle

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
SatSure and Dhruva Space unite to deliver complete Earth observation service solutions

ICEYE to deliver persistent radar imaging to NATO for enhanced space-based intelligence sharing

Successful liftoff delivers Sentinel4 on MTG satellite to enhance atmospheric forecasting

Tianwen 2 captures Earth and moon from deep space on asteroid mission

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
NASA raises chance for asteroid to hit moon

Earth's satellites at risk if asteroid smashes into Moon: study

Asteroid 2024 YR4 poses low risk of Moon impact in 2032

Ethical and legal clarity urged as planetary defense faces asteroid threats

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.