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DS1 Gets Upgraded and Rebooted

Posted by michael on from the so-much-for-uptime dept.

Andy_Howell writes "In the "even spaceships have to reboot departmet," NASA's DS1, which is essentially "software with an ion drive," just got new code. This new software is part of an extension of its mission to investigate Comet Borrelly this September."

1 of 12 comments (clear)

  1. takes balls by po_boy · · Score: 4
    that's pretty cool. I'm hesitant to reboot a machine with a new kernel on it remotely. I've never had to do it when "remotely" meant 197 million miles away.

    The article also mentioned that since DS1 had lost its star tracker, it has to use its CCD camera to orient itself. That means it can't keep track of its orientation very well while it is snapping photos of stuff around it anymore. That's a hell of a predicament to be in, I guess.