Coalition for Space Exploration Blog: Efforts to revive NASA’s Kepler space telescope, the space based observatory now credited with identifying 3,548 possible alien planets in the Milky Way galaxy will enter a new diagnostic phase this week, according to program manager Roger Hunter. Artist's illustration of NASA's Kepler space telescope. Image credit/NASA The latest efforts are intended to determine whether Kepler can regain the accuracy in pointing needed to resume the search. Kepler, launched in March 2009, was hobbled in May by troubles with a second reaction wheel. The observatory is equipped with four of the fast spinning devices that stabilize and aim Kepler with high accuracy. However, three of them must function properly if Kepler is to resume its planet search. Both reaction wheels 2 and 4 are experiencing high friction. The May difficulties with wheel 4, prompted a safe mode response and at least a temporary end to the ultimate search for Earth-like planets circling their stars in what’s considered the habitable zone — a region temperate enough for water, if present, to exist in liquid form. Recovery efforts so far show that both wheels 2 and 4 will spin clockwise and counter clockwise, according to a Kepler mission status report prepared by ...