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Black Boxes for Spacecrafts

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the so-many-raunchy-jokes-to-choose-from dept.

karvind writes "NewScientist is running story about NASA's plan to put small, heat-resistant black boxes that will transmit data back to Earth when future space probes break up during re-entry to the Earth's atmosphere. NASA will work with Aerospace Corporation to develop black boxes called Reentry Breakup Recorders (REBRs) weighing just 1 kilogram and spanning less than 30 centimetres."

12 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. Just make sure you don't put Windows on these by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Blue Screen of Orbit Reentry is not a fun thing to experience.

  2. There I was ... by s20451 · · Score: 3, Funny

    There I was, walking down the street, minding my own business, when .... BONK! Black box to the head.

    --
    Toronto-area transit rider? Rate your ride.
    1. Re:There I was ... by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

      There I was, walking down the street, minding my own business, when .... BONK! Black box to the head.

      "Ah, here's the problem, Sir. A human wondered into our landing site. Good thing we have black boxes to know such."

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  3. Slightly worrying for bees by mrRay720 · · Score: 5, Funny

    "These things are so light and easy to attach, we would like to have several on everything that flies"

    Try getting back in your hive now, bitch!

  4. Re:This sounds fatalist by ThJ · · Score: 2, Funny

    I don't think he had time to read that as he was trying to get in the first post.

  5. Racially insensitive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny
    I think the term "black box" is not politically correct.

    Why can't we just call it a recorder?

  6. Linux there too? by ChipMonk · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've heard of squeezing Linux into small devices, but a window manager on a space probe is a bit ridiculous, don't you think? TCP just isn't designed to handle that much lag time and network interference.

  7. Re:Black Box? by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hmm, I wonder what could be inside....

    Half-dead cats

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  8. "Aircrafts," eh? by H_Fisher · · Score: 4, Funny

    Obviously, the editorim didn't pay attentions to verb endae during their English classices.

  9. Re:Isn't that a bit heavy/large? by hkroger · · Score: 2, Funny

    Well, just put one kilo less of fuel. It's that easy.

  10. Put Astronauts in the Black Boxes by porp · · Score: 2, Funny

    Really, if you can make something that will survive falling from space, shouldn't you just build that around the astronauts so that they can survive too? Hell, I'd like my car built like one as well.

    porp

  11. Re:$4500 by rpozz · · Score: 2, Funny

    Don't worry. Anyone can make that mistake. Including NASA.