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International Space Station Gyroscope Fails
b00m3rang writes "Reuters reports that one of the three working gyroscopes that keep the international space station stable and in the right position stopped working, just hours after a new two-man crew moved in for a half-year stay."
That ain't no meteor shower son....
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
Which way is up?
The Erogenous Zone
The article clearly states that ONE of three failed. The story posted makes it sound like the ISS is now starting to spin out of control.
All they need to do is a spacewalk out and restart it.
He stressed, however, "We're not dealing with a safety issue," and added it would take several weeks to determine when to schedule the spacewalk.
There are two gyroscopes still functioning, and that is enough to stabilize the station, Suffredini said. If one of these remaining gyroscopes fails, the station will rely on thrusters to keep it steady.
Too bad they can't do that for Hubble too.
(\_/)
(O.o) This is Bunny. (> <)
So when was the last time the station had maintainence?
Be you Admins? nay, we are but lusers!
I wonder why they would place the circuit breakers outside the space station. If those ciruit breakers are like anything in my house, they go out all the time. Or maybe it is just my power company with all the brown outs in the summer.
I'm glad the story says this is not a critical system or a threat to the astronauts. Still, I wonder why the circuit breaker is not in a place easy to get to.
This gives me another idea. I wonder if they have a special escape pod attached to the space station, so if some critical system goes, they can escape.
Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."
Or is this picture a little creepy? The american astronaut looks like a serial killer or something and the russian looks like he's afraid because the american looks like a killer...
Reuters reports that the gyroscope that keeps the international space station stable and in the right position stopped working, just hours after a new two-man crew moved in for a half-year stay."
Did you phrase it that way because you're a professional reporter and are used to getting paid to scare people into buying the crap you write, or are you just being a troll?
The article (and common sense) state that there's redundant functionalirty involved, i.e., there are two gyroscopes left that can handle the load and if that fails they can still keep it going with thrusters for over 6 months.
There are two kinds of people in the world: Those with good memory.
they'd only just arrived so presumably they were just messing about with all the controls... and... "ah s***".... is that what you'd be doing?!
"the box that holds that particular circuit breaker ... is outside (the station)"
I can see it now, next they're gonna talk about plugging an air leak near the back door where the fly screen is...
they have four. two are still working. if one more goes they'll have to use thrusters to keep it steady
...I've just picked up a fault in the AE35 unit. It's going to go 100% failure in 72 hours.
They need to add a RTFA moderation option...
What will happen next? Will they now start spinning the entire ISS to compensate for the loss of they gyroscope?
Probably not, because the astronauts will toss their cookies... hehe
"I did this cuz Linux gives me a woody"
Any spacewalk to fix the gyroscope circuit breaker would be only the second time both station crew members would be outside the space station, leaving no one inside. I hope they remember the key.
NASA has finally decided it's time the ISS had centrifugal artificial gravity.
Now it is up to 2 of 4... http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Apr/04232004/nation_w/1 59922.asp
In Soviet Russia, spacestation rotates you!!
"It's the smell! If there is such a thing." Agent Smith - The Matrix
This makes you wonder what specification of hardware gets used in spacefaring vehicles/structures.
It seems that over history, the spacefaring versions of our technology are quite inferior to what we have planet-side. On typical space vehicles, this is because the vehicles were built so long ago. The ISS is a relatively new invention, and the number of bangs, bumps and hiccups seems to be more or less consistant with it's much older counterparts.
On a sidenote, anyone know if it has enough mass to impact earth's surface if it should come down?
Did you phrase it that way because you're a professional reporter and are used to getting paid to scare people into buying the crap you write, or are you just being a troll?
I agree, and am similarly irritated.
Posting deliberately misleading stories is enough to get a Foe rating from me, at least.
May we never see th
This has been modded redundant. Of course it is; that's the subject...
The article says that if another fails, they will have to use thrusters to keep the thing stable. So can someone perhaps explain to me what the gyroscopes physically do to keep it stable?
-- Even if a god did exist, why the fsck should I worship it?
That a gyroscope that's been running for years just happens to stop hours after a new crew arrives.
We all know someone pushed the wrong button.
Well at least they know what the noise was now.
"Its almost like there is a sense of schadenfreude in seeing such ambitious projects having setbacks."
This is why it's hard to succeed in this world. There are three people behind you when you want to climb the ladder of success. One to tell you, you will not make it, and denigrate you every step of the way. The other two will yank on your legs when you look like you're getting too high.
Mmpff, So for the second time in history a dutch man goes into space.
And first thing he does is break the bludy spacestation !.
So typical.
On behalf of all dutch , sorry people, we can't help it, we like to break things.
-- forget
Yeah... Right after the new crew came aboard, tried to fire up their xbox and blew the circuit breaker
I've never shoed a horse, but I once told a donkey to piss off!
If you're wondering how a gyroscope works and what it does:
How stuff works has a nice article.
Nasa's also got a page about how they're used in space shuttles
My refridgerator runs all the time.
My Hot Water heater is constantly keeping water... well... Hot.
Let's see... What else.
Ahhh yes. There is this box on the back of my house that keeps track of all the electrical power that this house has used for the past 20 or so years.
Is 20 yearsof use longer then the ISS?
Anyway. At least in my case, you bet is wrong.
If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
But it was indeed funny
so, around 75% of all moderators are morons.
The backups are modded -1 Redundant so the Slashdot editors can't see them.
From the article:
... is outside (the station) and that implies we'll have to do an EVA," Suffredini said in a telephone news conference, using the acronym for extra-vehicular activity, or spacewalk."
"At this time, the box that holds that particular circuit breaker
Right...The controls for the fence are in the shack across the lot, past all the dinosaurs; the satellite uplink is in the shack across the lot, past all the marauding aliens; the circuit breaker is in the box, outside the space station. Go fix it Dave.
Any of the astronauts wearing a red shirt by the way?
and added it would take several weeks to determine when to schedule the spacewalk.
Eh? Damn bureaucracy. When it takes weeks to SCHEDULE something you know that something is wrong. What happened to good old flexibility?
for NES. It's your turn to go wind up the gyro, we're tumbling out of control again.
It takes them several weeks to determine when to schedule a spacewalk? What else is there to do up there?
Sounds just like some corporations... takes weeks to determine when to schedule a meeting.
I thought it was an important enough story to post because I'm concerned for the humans involved. The crew is in no danger now, but it's another reminder that space travel is not yet ready for prime time. As much as I'd like to see us go to Mars and make recreational space travel available to the public, we really ought to master the circuit breaker first.
The first of four failed in 2002 and no replacement will be available until the shuttles run again.
The station requires the remaining two gyros for normal operation, but there are other backup measures available if another one fails.
Salt Lake Trib article
See http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20040406 and http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=20040415.
plim-plam-plompudding
Were they made by Americans or Russians (or some other nation)?
Up to now Russian parts have failed the most or were the furthest behind schedule. Is this one an American fault?
Figures. Stuff always breaks when you move. They should be glad the moving guys avoided dropping the piano down the stairs or putting a hole in the wall.
I wanted to bring the story to the Slashdot community's attention, and I'm no professional writer or journalist, so I copied the story summary off a news site. I hate sensational journalism as much as anyone, if I could change the post, I would. If I ever decide to post anything else, I'll be more careful. My apologies.
Just give them a couple of Powerballs and have 'em start spinning. Powerballs
The Moore-Murphy Law: The number of things that will go wrong will double every 2 years.
The Expedition 8 crew will be returning to Earth on the very Soyuz that brought them up in October 2003.
The Expedition 9 crew's Soyuz will be the new ISS "lifeboat".
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START
I always hate when my gyroscope fails. It just ruins my entire day!
Hubble has lost 3 of 6 gyros. It needs 3 to stay pointed in one direction and not spin out of control.
ISS has lost 1 of 3 gyros. It needs 2 to stay locked in 2 axis (I would imagine) which is crucial to keep one side pointed at "space" and one at earth.
Who will fail first? The beloved Hubble or the much-berated ISS? Only time, or perhaps a Foresight Exchange claim can tell.
Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress at this period in history.
I just made a stupid mistake. I'd rather take credit for being an idiot than have people think I was fearmongering on purpose. Please read reply to parent.
Shall we compare cars to space shuttles on the basis of fatalities per occupied seat miles traveled? I would be surprised if, by that standard, Space Shuttles came out as the safest mode of transportation. But one thing is certain, they would absolutely school cars.
Hi guys welcome aboard the ISS, um just asking but did you happen to bring a gyroscope.. nope oh well never mind we should be ok unless another one.. *breaking sound*.. ahh crap
even if Etazunians
Doesn't it suck when you're french and you try to crack up a french joke in english, and it ends up not meaning anything at all, and you look like an idiot?
FYI, the english for "Etazunien" is "USian", but in fact that doesn't make it any funnier.
Retard...
This could have been put forward more correctly: :)
just hours after a new three-man crew moved in, from which two will replace the current two-man crew for a six month stay.
(ergo, don't forget Andre Kuipers
Slashdot: stuff for news, nerds that matter, matter for news, stuff that nerd
but needs to be recalibrated, as Andre Kuipers (ESA) stated on an interview this morning with Dutch television (Dutch language).
Slashdot: stuff for news, nerds that matter, matter for news, stuff that nerd
Never heard of it - maybe someone would be so helpful as to provide a link towards a newsitem on this ?
In other news, america's sensationalization and hype step up to new levels to combat the desensitization to hype brought on by Fox News' continuous looping of the same six stories four times per day.
top headline right now: nobody cares! an eyewitness at the NASA command center shrugged and commented "It really doesn't matter, they still have two gyros left. Ooh! Gyros. I think I'll have greek food for lunch." the pudgy scientist then led twelve of his friends to Olive Garden.
Twist and shout!
So *that's* why there's so many gerbils used in space experiments now?
They will resume thruster orientation maintained by the Russian modules. the Zarya Control module (Formerly the FGB Tug), and the Zvezda Service Module which is how the altitude and orientation were maintained until the Gyroscopes were installed as a part of the Z1 Truss.
Zarya was launched in November 1998.
Unity was attached by Shuttle Endeavour in December 1998.
Zvedza docked to the fledgling station on July 25th, 2000.
The Z1 Truss was installed by Shuttle Discovery in October, 2000.
The Control Moment Gyroscopes which are an integral part of the Z1 Truss, weren't activated until Assembly Mission 5A in February 2001.
Yes, this is a big deal, it will not however, result in the station tumbling out of control and dooming it forever.
This very word indeed was intended at wankers such as you : YHBT/YHL/FOAD
I won't call any Tazunian an American otherwise this'd be an INSULT for whoever else manages to live newar your polluted and decadent country.
You're just British lackeys and bastards.
Go, choke on Tony Blair's flacid microcock, moron.
The Soyuz are only rated for 6 months of "on-orbit" time, therefor the Russians would have to build and launch twice as many Soyuz as they do now, and they just can't do it.
They're struggling as it is to build Soyuz as fast as they can to maintain the current launch tempo, doubling it, plus the rockets to launch them just isn't in the cards.
because the Gyrscopes are totally self-contained as a part of the Z1 Integrated Truss Structure. They're not in one of the habitable modules of the station.
"Lets put the breakers in the hardest part of the place to get to, so that in an emergency we'll have to risk our lives to fix things."
At least there aren't any velociraptors in space.
I'm in the hole of the broadband donut.
Second gyro down two left.
... that near crash-docking I saw on NASA TV the other day. Wham! Wobble, wobble!
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
Astronaut 1: [opening door to space station as it begins to spin out of control.]
Astronaut 2: What did you do, man?
another space gyroscope just came up for bids.
free online diet tracking.
Are they sure it isn't the HAL9000 dicking them around?
--- Ban humanity.
"Open the pod bay doors HAL!"
Someone is there to make a repair call. If they had to depend on the phone company to dispatch a technician, the service call would be 3 years out.
Wrap a string around it and pull real fast every once and awhile. That'll keep it stabilized. :)
Don't use Aliens and Jurassic Park as an engineering guide.
Your refrigerators performance is degrading, and that degredation doesn't result in catastrophic failure.
Your water heater can be expected to last at most 15 years.
None of these provide life support to a crew of multiple people in a vacuume under huge temperature extremes while being bathed in radiation and providing communications and power.
Your appliances are toys, with large margins for error. Simple toys which in some cases have been perfected over hundreds, if not many thousands of years. And how long have we been perfecting constructing habitats in space? Yeah.
How many power failures has your house had over those twenty years, out of curiosity?
The post should have said "a gyroscope" instead of "the gyroscope" originally posted. Now it looks like they've edited the original story to reflect that. I did read the story, I couldn't care less about being logged in, and there's no reference because it wasn't a verbatum copy. I was paraphrasing somewhat.
They can just borrow one from the Einstein probe. I'm sure no one would mind delaying the project for a little while =)
- a.c.
The article doesn't specify the makers of these failed gyroscopes, but they're probably Russian. Russia stuck the US with their leftover tech and scientists, destroying the schedule, while they're launching lasersail outer-system probes without us. So American taxpayers are footing the bill for Russian territory claims on the outer planets.
--
make install -not war
I'm sure a part that needs to constanty spin 24 hours a day, 7 days a week is not easy to make reliable. Also I believe that they have a specific life span don't they?
But with these failing gyros. Does anybody want to bet on Gravity Probe B's perfect sphere gyros failing?
-asoap
Treat me like a marketing stat, and I'll treat your movie like a series of ones and zeros
Earth: I.S.S., do you copy?
I.S.S.: We copy, over.
Earth: Plug Gyroscope #3 back in. Next time, pick up your feet; over.
I.S.S.: Roger that. ( its going to be a long day ).
Because you don't "just do" an EVA. Putting on a suit and going outside the station requires a lot of planning.
Obviously, I have no clue of what's involved... but why *do* the EVA's require so much planning? What you've described is the current situation, where every step an [astro|cosmo]naut takes is meticulously planned. And it makes sense on the Shuttle missions, where you only have a week to get everything done.
But these guys have months. And sure, we want them to be working on science all the time... but at this point, I've given up on any good science getting done. I say rip up the schedules, find a day when the sun position is favorable, and go out and do stuff.
If NASA were in charge of Columbus' missions to the New World, he'd have never gotten 10 miles from Spain. Every "mission" to the top of the mast would involve detailed planning, and no turn of the rudder could be accomplished without a complete structural analysis.
Of course, in those days, sailors were desperate to leave and lucky if they got home, too. But isn't there some middle ground between reckless endangerment and hopeless overengineering?
Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
stopped working, just hours after a new two-man crew moved in
Time for somebody to diet, perhaps?
Table-ized A.I.
Or buy another gyroscope from a ferengi merchant...
JPL has been marketing a fiber optic "gyroscope". It using inferometry in long fiber loop. Motion will cause a loop of light to doppler shift out of phase. Four of these coils, each on the face of a tetrahedron, will measure any rotational motion. No parts to break or wear out.
I presume NASA spacecraft are using mechanical gyros?
It's called an Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) and it's a 600 lb piece of spinning metal that uses the gyroscopic precession to force the station to turn (or not).
And if anyone had read the artical - it's apparently a problem with the breaker (called a Remote Power Controlller, or RPC) that turns it on and off, not the CMG itself.
...that this is what was making that metallic flapping noise that everyone was so worried about last month? (Personally, I still think it's a space alien on the wing. :P Or is that "on teh spoke"?)
Un-news
Anyone happen to know how big these gyros are? I imagine they'd be pretty hefty if the station only has 3 of them....
I think it was frankly brilliant that the Russians could keep Mir ticking when they couldn't even launch to resupply it during the Gorbachev coup.
Its often been said that its orientation computer had the same processing power as an early Nokia phone (not strictly true) but through brilliant ingenuity, it stayed working.
The station was even hardy enough to sustain 'battle-damage' after it's argument with an over-enthusiastic Progress delivery.
It was a superb peice of engineering that really was up there for ages - I was very sad to see Mir go.
Ripping an new rectum in the fabric of spacetime.
Maybe thats what all the knocking was about earlier.
If only we had a wise-cracking electrician (with a really hot daughter) and his crew of oddball assistants all willing to blast off at a moment's notice in exchange for not paying taxes, then we could fix this thing in a matter of hours.
Fail-over and redundant systems are neccessary in a situation like this where any mistake can result in impressive accident. To limp on on 3 gyros for so long is faulty thinking, and goes to show just how badly the cutbacks are affecting space exploration.
The Columbia disaster and the slow schedule of the return to flight have brought about the reliance on gyro redundance and rocket backup. This is hardly due to faulty thinking. The real faulty thinking was relying on the space shuttle to build the station in 30 flights without an accident.
Internationalizing space would be great, but lets look at the facts: a U.S. is relatively active in space flight but relies on a dangerous vehicle. Russia is weak financially and can only maintain a limited launch rate of small (but excellent) spacecraft. Europe has good launch capability but no manned effort (figure that out). Other nations are bit players. The U.S., Russia, and Europe are already collaborating on the IIS, and it isn't working out that well for anyone. Spacefaring nations might be better off going it alone for 20 years.
an ill wind that blows no good
"Remember in the original Star Trek on how Scotty never had enough dilithium crystals? I always thought that was kind of funny that they couldn't find a way to stash a couple of extra boxes of crystals somewhere."
I think the problem was about the crystals being a commodity in demand-- you just had enough to get around and do the routine exploration, not the crazy heroic stuff that a mission with Capt. Kirk at the helm necessitated.
Ergo, the shortage when the tribbles hit the fan.
Trekka-Troll
Any spacewalk to fix the gyroscope circuit breaker would be only the second time both station crew members would be outside the space station, leaving no one inside.
"Got the keys to the station?"
"I thought you had them."
-Houston, we have a problem.
-Mod how you like, we'll make more
We have to certify both Shuttle and Station avionics and other hardware to a long list of brutal environmental requirements, among them
- extremes of temperature, both high and low
- extremes of pressure, both high and low
- microgravity
- severe vibration
- shock (impulse)
- humidity and corrosive salt fog (at the Cape where they're launched)
- ionizing radiation including both SEUs (single event upsets) and total dose
- lightning and electrostatic discharge (exceedingly difficult; we end up with many waivers)
- human handling
- and more
and this is just from memory after working on certification at JSC several years ago.
Then of course there are all the performance, (both planned and off-nominal scenarios), maintainability, reliability, and safety requirements to pass.
Can your fridge do that?
A bearing failure.
A good friend of mine is one of the people responsible for this part of the station, and he was just explaining this problem to me last night. In the event that one more gyro fails, they've got other (less desirable, but functional) options, including Russian gear. We talked about all kinds of options... the short of it is, yes, the failure of this gyro is a major concern, but no, the station is not about to fall out of the sky.
this man takes star trek VERY seriously..
Seriously. The way to control breeding is to STOP FUCKING BREEDING. Failing that, offering free vasectomies and tubal ligations would work just as well, and cheaper than trying to find some other planet to move onto.
post 1:
I wanted to bring the story to the Slashdot community's attention, and I'm no professional writer or journalist, so I copied the story summary off a news site.
post 2:
there's no reference because it wasn't a verbatum copy. I was paraphrasing somewhat.
dodgy. fair enough redundant, fair enough rtfa but troll. thats a bit harsh
-- Karma Karma Karma Karma, Karma Chameleon - Boy George