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Pluto-Charon system
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| midtskogen | Date: Sunday, 05.07.2015, 10:01 | Message # 46 |
 Star Engineer
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Norway
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| New Horizon's computer has crashed and the probe is no longer transmitting scientific data
Since there is a 9 hour ping time the engineers wont have many attempts to fix or work around the problem in time.
NIL DIFFICILE VOLENTI
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| Watsisname | Date: Sunday, 05.07.2015, 12:49 | Message # 47 |
 Galaxy Architect
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| The craft recovered from the problem on its own (essentially performing a reset), but to diagnose exactly what went wrong will take some time, and there will not be any science data collected until that happens. This might take a day or a few. Hopefully the former. Closest approach is in just under nine days.
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| midtskogen | Date: Sunday, 05.07.2015, 13:08 | Message # 48 |
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Star Engineer
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| The main computer failed but they have redundancy so a backup computer got the probe online again. I don't know if the backup computer can do all tasks that the main computer can do, but even if it does, it creates a tricky situation. Should they try to get the main computer operational again and risk a new failure, or should they instruct the backup to perform all the planned operations?
I think they feel confident that they can restore normal operation, but perhaps they run out of options if there is another failure. I hope "safe mode" doesn't mean that it doesn't use any of the instruments. Even if they restore everything, we must hope that it doesn't go into safe mode just before it reaches Pluto. The probe will only spend some hours near Pluto and it takes 9 hours to get it out of safe mode...
NIL DIFFICILE VOLENTI
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| expando | Date: Tuesday, 07.07.2015, 10:02 | Message # 49 |
 Space Pilot
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Australia
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| Interesting the main computer failed, NH spent most of the trip to Pluto with the main computer turned off.
Likely it would be radiation damage, using the backup computer should suffice, it should have the same capabilities as the main computer.
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true - by the wise as false - and by the rulers as useful."
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
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| HarbingerDawn | Date: Tuesday, 07.07.2015, 12:11 | Message # 50 |
 Cosmic Curator
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United States
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| Quote expando (  ) Likely it would be radiation damage
No, it was because it was asked to perform too many simultaneous calculations, so it was overwhelmed and switched to the backup computer.
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| expando | Date: Tuesday, 07.07.2015, 13:01 | Message # 51 |
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Space Pilot
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Australia
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| Quote HarbingerDawn ( ) No, it was because it was asked to perform too many simultaneous calculations, so it was overwhelmed and switched to the backup computer.
Thanks for the correction and the additional link was nice to backup your assertion.... Anyway they should have tested the multitasking capabilities better if that was indeed the case. Voyager's computer was damaged by radiation although fixable, radiation damage can strike at any time.
"Religion is regarded by the common people as true - by the wise as false - and by the rulers as useful."
Lucius Annaeus Seneca
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| Watsisname | Date: Tuesday, 07.07.2015, 21:06 | Message # 52 |
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Galaxy Architect
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| Is it really that hard to fact-check by looking at the mission coverage on NASA's website...?
The investigation into the anomaly that caused New Horizons to enter safe mode on July 4 has confirmed that the main computer was overloaded due to a timing conflict in the spacecraft command sequence. The computer was tasked with receiving a large command load at the same time it was engaged in compressing previous science data. The main computer responded precisely as it was programmed to do, by entering safe mode and switching to the backup computer.
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| Handbanana | Date: Friday, 10.07.2015, 03:44 | Message # 53 |
 Astronaut
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United States
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Tonight... you.
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| steinarmidtskogen | Date: Friday, 10.07.2015, 19:53 | Message # 54 |
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Observer
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Pirate
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| Lots of good info. Timeline
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| HarbingerDawn | Date: Friday, 10.07.2015, 21:08 | Message # 55 |
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Cosmic Curator
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United States
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All forum users, please read this!
My SE mods and addons
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| HarbingerDawn | Date: Saturday, 11.07.2015, 01:58 | Message # 56 |
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Cosmic Curator
Group: Administrators
United States
Messages: 8717
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All forum users, please read this!
My SE mods and addons
Phenom II X6 1090T 3.2 GHz, 16 GB DDR3 RAM, GTX 970 3584 MB VRAM
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| midtskogen | Date: Sunday, 12.07.2015, 12:22 | Message # 57 |
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Star Engineer
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Norway
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| The last daytime view of the Charon facing side of Pluto:
NIL DIFFICILE VOLENTI
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| FastFourierTransform | Date: Sunday, 12.07.2015, 14:14 | Message # 58 |
 Pioneer
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Spain
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| This is awesome. Some people at the New Horizons Team have been discussing if those tear-like features are neon rivers or not!!!
Someone pointed out that it looks like some martian fluvial features
By the way; this is pluto's map for now!
It's awesome to see those abrupt variations on the surface albedo's
A comparison to admire the power of Hubble's observations of Pluto
And another image of the dwarf-planet
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| midtskogen | Date: Monday, 13.07.2015, 06:52 | Message # 59 |
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Star Engineer
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Norway
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| Features now visible on Charon:
And more details on Pluto:
We wont get much more details than this if NH doesn't survive the flyby (most likely it will, but if Pluto has an unseen ring system, there is a possibility of disaster). The most interesting pictures will be transmitted during the first week after the flyby, but since NH has 8 GB of storage and the downlink speed is 2 kbps, it will take more than a year to transmit everything. It wont be until late 2016 that we have all the data.
NIL DIFFICILE VOLENTI
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| Himself | Date: Tuesday, 14.07.2015, 06:59 | Message # 60 |
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Astronaut
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| It doesn't look as heavily cratered as I might expect for something orbiting in the Kuiper belt. Could sublimation and deposition of the atmosphere weather away craters?
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