Slashdot Mirror
Hubble Repairs Hindered By Antiquated Computer Systems
Andrew Moseman writes "Part of the trouble NASA is encountering while fixing the Hubble Space Telescope comes from the fact that it's been up there for nearly two decades, and therefore carries computer systems long outdated here on Earth. 'One of the main computers that the Goddard team has been struggling with during the repair attempts runs on an Intel 486 chip, the height of 1989 technology.' Many of NASA's long-running missions rely on antiquated systems — the Voyager probes each have about 32k of memory — but the scientists say they can manage."
I would imagine it's a little more difficult than simply popping out the CPU and putting in a new one. If you were tasked with upgrading a 486 here on Earth, how many components do you think you'd be able to recycle into the new machine? You'd end up replacing the whole thing, maybe keeping the HDD around just long enough to get your data off it.
"I'm not sure I like the fugnutish tone you used in your post!" -RogL (608926)-
This is a bullshit article. Unfortunately, that has become the norm for Popular Mechanics.
The Intel 486 is hardly some arcane CPU that's so old that nobody knows how to program it. Anybody who can write assembly for modern PCs can write assembly for the 486. And anybody who wants to write in a higher-level language can -- because all the 486 development tools are still easily available.
If you read the article, you'll find that it presents no evidence whatsoever for its assertion that the Hubble's use of a 486 makes it harder to repair. In fact, it reads more like, "The Hubble has a 486, and damn that seems outdated to me! Maybe that's why it's so hard to fix!" Really, that's about the level of the 'logical' argument that you'll find in the article.