I apologise if the tone of my earlier message appeared to be accusatory in any way. It certainly wasn't meant to be. Perhaps I'm a little too defensive after today's events. It's just that at some non-PPC discussion boards I've visited today I've already seen those "here goes dumb NASA again!" sort of comments. I will say that I haven't seen that sentiment expressed here today. I was simply afraid that those kind of comments would be inevitable. The people who frequent this board, I find, are far more understanding and accepting of the risks of technology in general and space travel in particular. Kindred spirits even!
I've only been working on Genesis since last October, but some engineers I work with have been with the program since it was first proposed years ago. They're the ones really hurting today. There are some I work with who also worked on the doomed Mars Climate Orbiter and Mars Polar Lander missions. This has dredged up all sorts of sad memories for them.
Still, we have Stardust. We'll get that one right!
Well, now that we have an insider at NASA, tell us the kind of PDAs and special gadgets that are being used at NASA. NASA dudes get all the cool gadgets, right ? :mrgreen:
Just to clarify my "ouch" - i did not mean NASA was hurt by it (i.e. deserving of ridicule) but that it (or maybe this guy riding in it : 0X ) would say ouch :mrgreen:
We love NASA here! Heck, we had a huge thread about the Mars Rovers that eventually had to be abondoned because it looked as if the the little guys were going to last forever! :wink: I still can't believe they are chugging along continueing on their extended mission. Talk about getting your money's worth! So, what do you NASA guys think about the X-Prize? :wink: I think two teams are going to try for it next month...
Steve
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"My eyes are rolling back in my head so far I can see my grey matter bubbling and frothing from reading this thread....bleh." JD
My heart goes out to the team. Years of work in a pile of rubble. I know what it's like to spend heaps of time on a project only to have it go up in flames. :cry:
All the best for your future projects.
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So, you NASA guys make my job seem pretty mundane (IT research and consulting for a large firm). What other cool jobs do you other readers have?
[And *try* not to stretch the truth TOO much!]
Pssssst! Ironguy, Do we dare tell 'em that our jobs are a lot like Homer Simpson's at the power plant? :wink:
In all seriousness though, our jobs run the gamut of boredom to excitement. Mostly boring, but occasionally exciting. Last night, during the capsule release, it was exciting. There were all sorts of press people there with their goofy announcer-type voices. Then there are the lows, like what happened in the Utah desert this morning.
We love NASA here! Heck, we had a huge thread about the Mars Rovers that eventually had to be abondoned because it looked as if the the little guys were going to last forever! :wink: I still can't believe they are chugging along continueing on their extended mission. Talk about getting your money's worth! So, what do you NASA guys think about the X-Prize? :wink: I think two teams are going to try for it next month...
Steve
Speaking of the Mars Rovers, one of the other spacecraft I work on, Mars Odyssey, is the primary communications means for both of them. Approximately 85% of all data received from Spirit and Opportunity have come down via Odyssey. About 4 times a day, Odyssey passes over each of the rovers, and, if scheduled, Odyssey will initiate a UHF communications session whereby the rover dumps its data and Odyssey relays it back to Earth.
Extended mission?! Before it's demise early last year, I worked on the Pioneer 10 spacecraft project. Pioneer 10 lasted 29 years past its primary mission! Pioneer 6, launched on December 19, 1965 is still operational, although NASA hasn't contacted it in a couple of years.
If you guys wanna see what I do, head over to http://einstein.stanford.edu. Some of the stuff there will blow your mind. But like Paul, er, uh, Yogyakarta said, it's really more like Homer's job.
Although, this morning I was really craving a doughnut, but did anyone bring any? No. I had to buy expensive Pop-Tarts out of the machine.
As far as cool machines at NASA... well, it is government. Money matters. The room I'm sitting in right now has 10 Sun workstations, 4 Sun Blade workstations, 3 SGI workstations, and 1, yes, one, PC... and I'm hogging it! Cool. 8)
The neat thing is that everyone that works here is nerdy, geeky or a combination of the two. Including me. Many people own Pocket PCs as well as a few with Palm devices. Sci-Fi movies and books are often the topic of conversation as well as an occasional D&D foray.
95% boredom...5% panic!
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