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Saving Huygens

Posted by michael on from the dodged-a-bullet dept.

TazMainiac writes "This months IEEE Spectrum is running an article on how a Swedish scientist discovered that the Titan probe Cassini had a communications flaw that would cause it to lose all data sent back from the Huygens lander as it plunges into Titan's atmosphere. The problem - Doppler effect. The fix: go read the article."

10 of 267 comments (clear)

  1. RTFM is the fix? by Kenja · · Score: 5, Funny

    So wait, reading the article will fix the Cassini probe?

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
  2. Not quite by palad1 · · Score: 4, Funny

    RTFA will fix the probe.

    1. Re:Not quite by eingram · · Score: 3, Funny

      So you're telling us the probe is doomed?

  3. Save yourself from RTA, the fix is: by Tibor+the+Hun · · Score: 5, Funny

    reversing the polarity of the transponder...
    duh...

    --
    If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
  4. farsighted by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 4, Funny

    Installing the reentry sensor upside down, ignoring the Doppler effect - this rocket science stuff is so hard, they're missing all the easy stuff.

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  5. classic by theMerovingian · · Score: 4, Funny


    "We have a technical term for what went wrong here," one of Huygens's principal investigators, John Zarnecki of Britain's Open University, would later explain to reporters: "It's called a cock-up."

    We Americans speak English, but this is proof positive that the British have had much more time to master the use of it :)

    --
    "If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
  6. I could have helped out with this by kalpol · · Score: 5, Funny

    I drove a Fiat for years. I could have told them an Italian radio wasn't gonna work. :)

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    12:50 - press return.
  7. Re:NOOO!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Given this is Slashdot I'd bet there are some that view Star Trek as absolute reality. Aparently some of them have mod points as well. *shudder*

  8. Long vacation. by RobertB-DC · · Score: 3, Funny

    [NASA's] Horttor never got an explanation of why Alenia Spazio's telemetry system was built with a timing system that couldn't accommodate the Doppler shift in Huygens's telemetry. "It is a design feature of another application in Earth orbit, and they just reused it," he told Spectrum, adding, "I don't know why anyone would ever want to build it that way." (An Alenia Spazio spokeswoman said that none of the company's officials were available to comment because of a company-wide summer vacation period.)

    Anyone think that the "company-wide summer vacation" may extend a little longer than originally expected?

    "Hey, Tony! Glad to hear you ready for work. But why don't you go ahead and stay in Verona another month or two? Check out this web site while you're there. Ciao!"

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
  9. Re:the solution is so anticlimactic. by Fortran+IV · · Score: 3, Funny
    I know what you mean. I was expecting something about reprogramming Cassini or Huygens or both. But then I read:
    ...the firmware could not be altered after launch.
    What? A $300M mission, and there's no provision for firmware upgrades? Even my $40 wireless hub can get firmware upgrades. Oh, wait: "Do NOT upgrade firmware on any D-Link product over a wireless connection. Failure of the device may result. Use only hard-wired network connections."

    So I guess they'd have had to run a billion-mile cable first. Line noise would be a bitch, wouldn't it?
    --
    I figure by 2030 or so my 6-digit UID will be something to brag about.