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DART Succumbs to Fuel Problems
qw0ntum writes "The AP reports that NASA's experimental DART (Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology) spacecraft mission ended early when the craft's onboard computers detected a fuel-system problem. The craft, which was entirely computer-controlled, came within 300 feet of its target rendezvous target, a Pentagon satelite, before detecting the problem. Despite the failure, mission leaders 'called the mission a partial success because it demonstrated that an entirely computer-controlled craft could find a satellite in space.'"
isn't hard at all. In fact right now I can see one. It's big, bright, and has a man in it.
Oh, you mean artificial satellites?
*squints harder*
NASA is copying Apple now?
"This partial failure is to show that it is not an easy stuff to launch a satellite and let it autonomously dock itself to another object."
No, its evidently its quite difficult.
Just ask the Russians, who have been doing it with enormous success for decades and who have well-developed systems that have been proven to perform this function extremely reliably.
It must be incredibly hard, if NASA have trouble with it.
Oops sorry, that last bit was a troll.
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
It came within 300 feet of the Pentagon satellite before suffering a "mysterious failure".
Oh, just come right out and say it. The craft was death-rayed by the skittish Pentagon satellite.
xkcd.com - a webcomic of mathematics, love, and language.
Well, you can hardly blame NASA for leaving the thing a bit short...
Gas is $2.35 a gallon in Houston !
-- "It's not stalking if you're married!" My Wife.
I consider my recent trip to the bathroom a partial success, too. After all, I SAW the toilet.
Give NASA another 20 years and they may finally have caught up with Russia.
For people who don't get the joke, there was a design flaw in that engine (also used in the Mustang) for a couple of years that caused oil to corrupt the air intake manifold, resulting in vacuum lines getting clogged. The end result is that the fuel system starts misbehaving badly and the computer thinks that both banks of the engine are running exceptionally lean.
I ordered parts to repair mine just seconds before reading this story, so I laughed pretty hard.... I suddenly feel very gratified that my fuel problems didn't happen in orbit.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
I for one welcome our new autonomous semi-successful satellite finding space-craft overlords!
dahlek (will you squirm when you are pecked
For 11 hours of productivity. Go NASA!
Hey, it's NASA. They airlifted the fuel from Houston.
Actually, because rockets generally burn gasses (or liquids brought into gaseous state), they are kind of vaporware, aren't they?