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A Deep Space Primer

Posted by michael on from the don't-forget-the-freeze-dried-ice-cream dept.

phil reed writes "With the latest Mars missions still in the news, people might be curious about what it takes to actually run a deep space mission: how a spacecraft is designed, how the communications are handled, what kind of project management is in place to make it all work. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a primer online that gives broad general coverage of all aspects of putting a satellite into orbit and how to manage it once it's there. Fascinating reading, with lots of links to more detail."

2 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Tweaking, JPL Style by lpangelrob2 · · Score: 5, Funny
    And in the animation section...

    Too many windows on your screen may tax computer "power" causing animations to run too slowly, but if they're too fast, you might choose to run additional programs to use up computing power and slow the animations.

    So it looks like JPL's also providing a newbie guide on "tweaking your system." :-)

    I'd like to see how someone with a 3.0 GHz PC handles this...

    --
    -Rob
    Marriage doesn't have to suck!
  2. How it should have started... by el-spectre · · Score: 5, Funny

    "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."

    R.I.P. DNA

    --
    "Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.