tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post7448131967522492240..comments2024-03-21T08:00:48.696-07:00Comments on No Shortage of Dreams: What If Galileo Had Fallen to Earth? (1988)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-74071952296268979632016-02-19T23:19:44.889-07:002016-02-19T23:19:44.889-07:00No worries about "muddying up" the blog....No worries about "muddying up" the blog. You'll note that I included reference to cubesats toward the end of my "On the Moons of Mighty Jupiter" post. Interestingly, Robert Staehle and Stacy Weinstein, who were instrumental in making New Horizons happen, are heavily involved in cubesat engineering. They see cubesats as extensions of the original philosophy behind their David S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-60653823675583135022016-02-19T23:13:16.157-07:002016-02-19T23:13:16.157-07:00I saw the Nova program, and it didn't include ...I saw the Nova program, and it didn't include McRonald's analysis of Galileo's likely fate - and that of its nuclear power system - in the event of a catastrophic Shuttle Orbiter loss of control after SRB separation. That's what this post is about. Everything else is context. I mention the high-gain antenna's failure to unfurl, but the relay sat proposal will have to wait for David S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-73167330554196048682016-02-18T13:16:02.710-07:002016-02-18T13:16:02.710-07:00Back in the early 1990s there was a PBS NOVA show ...Back in the early 1990s there was a PBS NOVA show on Galileo called "The long rocky road to Jupiter." Generally, it's the same as this article. Problems with the shuttles, cost over runs, Centaur issues, old technology (70s and early 80s computer chips; at least two generations out-of-date by the time of launch). Your article left out the little item when the high gain antenna Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-57170580782609108432016-02-17T07:48:41.670-07:002016-02-17T07:48:41.670-07:00Sorry for muddying up your blog with my excessive ...Sorry for muddying up your blog with my excessive responses. The topic pretty much captured my attention. (hard to tell, eh?)<br /><br />Go to Google Scholar, type : cubesat planetary exploration<br />Gobs of papers out there already.<br /><br />Two of many...<br /><br />http://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2012-5326<br /><br />http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576510004169<Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17639020344662007725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-36372554340885275242016-02-17T07:15:55.783-07:002016-02-17T07:15:55.783-07:00Same here. The name sounds too cute. Still, if we ...Same here. The name sounds too cute. Still, if we can have micro drones, the scale should translate. I think in terms of we dropped one 350Kg probe (Huygens) on Titan, how much value would we get if similarly we could drop 100 3Kg probes? Assuming 50% or even 25% capability per mini-probe, the science Return-On-Investment per Kg jumps geometrically.<br /><br />Full value of Cassini-Huygens listedAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17639020344662007725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-37654911949009004042016-02-15T19:29:13.279-07:002016-02-15T19:29:13.279-07:00Interesting piece, though I disagree with its char...Interesting piece, though I disagree with its characterization of Uranus. The Seventh planet is a fascinating place *because* it's "weird." We don't know enough about other planetary systems to know whether it is non-representative or not. Also, it has mid-sized moons which in the Saturn system have turned out to be quite interesting (Miranda is about the same size as Enceladus)David S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-53748490163570671722016-02-15T19:26:21.575-07:002016-02-15T19:26:21.575-07:00Challenger didn't explode - it broke apart bec...Challenger didn't explode - it broke apart because of aerodynamic stresses. The fireball was, as my post states, caused when propellants that escapes from the External Tank mixed and ignited. I don't mention this in the post, but the Orbiter main engines continued to operate normally even as the Orbiter came apart - they shut down only after they were deprived of propellants.<br /><br />David S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-27108253669870001672016-02-15T19:13:23.744-07:002016-02-15T19:13:23.744-07:00I've come late to the Cubesat party. I thought...I've come late to the Cubesat party. I thought they were a gimmick for a while, but I've developed a better understanding and appreciation for them.<br /><br />dsfpDavid S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-23865508272138635522016-02-15T19:10:29.470-07:002016-02-15T19:10:29.470-07:00I sometimes say we should adopt a new theme - &quo...I sometimes say we should adopt a new theme - "Tau Ceti by 2100!" I think that, unless our civilization comes unglued, we might see star probes by then. We certainly could if we used that goal to push technology. Of course, that's only my optimistic opinion. <br /><br />dsfpDavid S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-46816134655376056772016-02-15T13:42:24.937-07:002016-02-15T13:42:24.937-07:00https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat
CubeSats. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat<br /><br />CubeSats. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17639020344662007725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-69730701729467174722016-02-15T13:36:27.636-07:002016-02-15T13:36:27.636-07:00https://www.sciencenews.org/article/support-grows-...https://www.sciencenews.org/article/support-grows-return-ice-giants-uranus-and-neptune<br /><br />This is timely.<br /><br />I wonder how many small mini-probes could be loaded to a "mother-ship" as either landers/crashers (think 1960s Ranger probes) or atmospheric penetrators (ala Galileo atmospheric probe into Jupiter)<br /><br />I know Huygens was complex, heavy, and delicate, but Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17639020344662007725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-71932233068773799972016-02-15T12:02:50.178-07:002016-02-15T12:02:50.178-07:00"The move would postpone its launch to 20 May..."The move would postpone its launch to 20 May 1986; however, because the Centaur could boost Galileo directly to Jupiter, it would reach its goal in 1988, not 1990<br /><br />"and had a front-row seat for the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Jupiter impacts in July 1994. "<br /><br />So had Challenger not exploded, Galileo would have only been 4 years into it's mission when SL9 crashed Tomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-53631307737663193282016-02-15T09:49:15.129-07:002016-02-15T09:49:15.129-07:00Hi David -
Good grief, yes! on New Horizons data t...Hi David -<br />Good grief, yes! on New Horizons data transmission. I didn't build it, and have no idea the trade-offs that were argued, but what a tremendous leap (Pluto!) to be force through such a small pipe (data transmission rate).<br /><br />Time to be alive comment:<br />You and I close in age. In half a century the knowledge of astronomy has exploded. It's daunting and thrilling. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17639020344662007725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-90856746088383774512016-02-12T22:46:42.360-07:002016-02-12T22:46:42.360-07:00Ben:
That capability jump began when SDI tech sta...Ben:<br /><br />That capability jump began when SDI tech started dribbling over into the space program. That was the real origin of the Discovery Program, I'm convinced of it. New Millennium, the tech development program, should never have become burdened with so much science. As soon as things went wrong - which is to be expected in a tech development program - confused people called it a David S. F. Portreehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15818906581595028816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6633940777526327846.post-4698578605792554052016-02-12T08:09:31.281-07:002016-02-12T08:09:31.281-07:00If Galileo's capabilities were re-made with to...If Galileo's capabilities were re-made with today's technology how much less mass/more capable would it be?<br /><br />When I think about my 1980s era computer vs what I now have, and relate this to what the Pioneer/Voyager, Galileo/Cassini technologies have been, I can't but imagine the geometric increase in capability. I think we saw some of that with New Horizons. Looking forward Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17639020344662007725noreply@blogger.com