HOUSTON, Texas, March 6: “Hubble has been revived,” NASA announced on Wednesday, after an operation akin to open-heart surgery in which astronauts successfully replaced its main power unit.

“Hubble has been revived after four-and-a-half hours of dormancy,” said Rob Navias, NASA spokesman at Johnson Space Centre here.

NASA’s Goddard Space Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland, which controls the telescope from afar, reported that tests of the new power unit were successful.

“We have a good aliveness test for the new unit. Hubble heartbeat has been restored at 802 CST (1402 GMT),” Navias added.

“We had a very outstanding PCU aliveness test. Great work,” beamed flight director Bryan Austin, praising the work of astronauts John Grunsfeld and Rick Linnehan, who undertook the toughest space walk in NASA history.—AFP