Slashdot Mirror
Trouble on the International Space Station
lewiz writes "The BBC News website has an article that explains the International Space Station has run into troubles due to one of four gyroscopes breaking down. They say while this is a serious problem it will not have any massive effect but it will have to be replaced quickly as the gyroscopes stabilise and control the flight."
-1, Redundant
(* design a space station using [spinning] doughnut shape[.] That way, they could kill two birds with one stone; spin the station to create artificial gravity and achieve gyroscopic stability. *)
I thot the purpose of a space station is to do anti-gravity research. If you spin it to make gravity, then you only have an expensive Earth emulator.
I suppose you could have part of it spinning, and part of it not spinning, but that creates mechanical risks at the joint, and we are right back to the gyro-like problems again.
Table-ized A.I.
When I was an intern in a company building satellites and rockets, local gurus told me that gyroscopes, with all their complex pieces moving fast, are the most failure-prone part of most satellites, and that's the reason why they usually have 4 gyros while only 3 are needed for normal operation, and 2 are enough for "degraded mode".
Now one gyroscope of the ISS is out: granted, it's a bit early, but it is also a bit early to worry about the ISS's future. Remember Hubble: at the beginning, it sounded like the mission would be a complete failure... In the end, Hubble could be repaired, and it is now considered a complete success. Don't be too hasty when bashing space missions: this IS rocket science after all.