NASA Avoids "Happy New Year" On Shuttle

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Sunday November 12, 2006 @02:20AM from the also-booze-is-heavy dept.

ClickOnThis noted that NASA is actually avoiding a Shuttle in Space over New Years. It says "The worry is that shuttle computers aren't designed to make the change from the 365th day of the old year to the first day of the new year while in flight. NASA has never had a shuttle in space December 31 or January 1. 'We've just never had the computers up and going when we've transitioned from one year to another,' said Discovery astronaut Joan Higginbotham. 'We're not really sure how they're going to operate.'" You may notice some deja vu while reading this story. Sorry. Not much happens on Sundays :)

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Re:Simple! by Doc+Ri · 2006-11-12 03:00 · Score: 2, Informative

Does it matter which direction they are travelling, is it not possible to technically flipflop between one year and the next based on where you are flying over?
I do not know, but I would assume the mission time is always the same time zone. Possibly GMT.

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617B3B7F7E7C7D7F00EOF
Stupid post by Flying+pig · 2006-11-12 03:53 · Score: 4, Informative

Sorry about that stupid post. Yes of course the Shuttle computers are programmed in HAL and in fact I knew that, if I only had woken up my older brain cells.

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Pining for the fjords
Re:Simple! by THE+anonymus+coward · 2006-11-12 08:46 · Score: 2, Informative

Mission time is based on Houston Time.

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I guess thats all I have to say.