NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has resumed normal operations after entering standby mode on Friday, Feb. 27, 2009, at 8:41a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Standby mode is a state in which the spacecraft awaits further instructions from ground controllers, due to a spacecraft fault. Engineers and scientists ran diagnostic tests over the weekend and found that an anomaly in a portion of the combined electronics system had occurred. They have now restored the spacecraft to a normal state, and observations resumed at 9:04 p.m. Pacific Time the evening of March 2.

Spitzer has been in an Earth-trailing orbit for five-and-a-half years, beaming back colorful images and valuable information about stars, galaxies, exoplanets and other celestial objects.

Jane Platt 818-354-0880
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
jane.platt@jpl.nasa.gov

ssc2009-05