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An Astronaut's View of Space Station Tech
An anonymous reader writes "Here's a chat with a NASA astronaut about how they fix system outages on board the International Space Station, what kind of computing tech they use on board, and how he would like to see the iPad used on the ISS." He talks about using 5 year old laptops because they had been tested to handle the stresses of space travel, as well as the importance of being able to read emails and send pictures to family while aboard a space station for months at a time.
ISS: Oops.
Houston: You we don't like that word, ISS.
ISS: Sorry.
Houston: What happened?
ISS: Accidentally fired a de-orbit burn.
Houston: How'd that happen?
ISS: Went to enter a course correction, and opened my fart app instead.
Houston: D'oh!
One page version of the article.
Not that I bothered reading it.... if they are quoting astronauts advocating ipads, it is clearly just yet another propaganda piece pushing mindless consumption. Very few people will operate a computer in zero gravity, and whilst it is possible that no keyboard and being stuck in a closed playground could be good in space, I should think the ipad would suck as much as when on the ground.
I feel that using a IPad would be a no brainer for usage on a space station. Think about carrying around a laptop on a space station compared to a tablet. Much friendly and also why not create applications customized to their needs. Only down side is are they powerful enough...my guess is if they are using five year old lap tops it cannot be too far off
5 year old laptop? If you can get one to run for that long before cocking-up, NASA's money is being well-spent...
Meta will eat itself
"We use foot loops that allow us to park our feet - if you put a finger on the computer and you don't have something to restrain you, you can float away," Anderson said.
Apparently, this isn't just an Earthly problem. Some of my colleagues desperately need foot restraints to keep them from gravitating to the coffee break room.
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
On many occasions I have opted to use old technology over new because of reliability and also because I know exactly what I'm doing. In high stress situations you don't want to lose time trying to figure out a new application when an old one would have worked just fine.
Be fair, he gets some bad lag up there, and his laptop's getting pretty old.
Meta will eat itself
Ground control to Major Tom, defragging disk and antivirus on...
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
What, so you can find your way back to the ISS? Uh-oh...
Meta will eat itself
One of the biggest worries that we have with our computer system on board is malicious software and virus attacks," Anderson said.
I'm sad that astronauts are running windows... I thought for sure some type of HAL like AI was their OS on the freaking *space* station... or at least linux :P
check out the Mp3 Garbler I built!
Sometimes we forget just how connected we really are in modern society. I work at Best Buy and we even use an Ipad to run the sales floor and help track numbers. Technology is just a means to an end so I say give the astronauts whatever technology they see fit. Interesting piece.
I read (most of) the TFA, and it seems the only place the iPad is mentioned is in the last five or so lines at the end of the fourth page (of a total of four). The man says it's "very possible" they'll adopt a popular device like the iPad over another tablet or old PDA. Period. Based on this ridiculously small amount of information about it, the iPad shouldn't even be mentioned in the summary. But it is, because that makes people read the article.
Y'know, I'm tired of all the blowjobs Steve Jobs is getting from the press the world over. I can't count the times I've seen ads for iPads thinly disguised as meaningful articles on magazines and newspapers that normally have nothing to do with the field of portable computing. The most shameless go with "how the iPad has changed our life" ("our" whose? Because last I checked, an iPad wasn't a requirement for every household like, say, a vacuum cleaner is). The ones that retain *some* level of self-respect have the decency to say "how tablet computers have changed our life", but then invariably have a picture of an iPad under that title.
And I'm no anti-fanboy, mind you. I dislike the iPad for a variety of reasons I won't discuss here, but I'd be making the same remarks if the press had gone all apeshit about the latest Android tablet, or something.
As for the topic of technology on space stations, I found this an interesting read, and rather more informative as well - though it's more about the computers running the stations than the ones used by the staff for their own enjoyment. It's surprising just how old the stuff going up in space really is.
Ask early adopters of consoles. 360s had the red ring. Wii had dead pixels. PS3 probably had something, I don't keep up on that sector. I'm pretty sure they've all had disc read problems. It's all about the reliability. It might be nice to have a lightning fast laptop, but if it breaks, it's doubtful you're going to have the resources to fix it. If it's a brand new laptop, you're not going to know how it's likely to break. And since they're in space, you're really not going to know how it's likely to break.
if I had the choice between a 5 year well tested portable or a new gimmick.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
America, Home of the Brave.
In 2001 A Space Odyssey, in the first scene onboard the Discovery when Bowman and Poole are having dinner, they're both watching a BBC broadcast on iPads!
Full size flat screen video tablets that look suspiciously like an iPad.
In 1968! That was 42 years ago!
Godaddy is a scam and a ripoff.
The computing hardware built into the ISS is not really something you want to be "upgrading" every few years. The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" principle applies here: The hardware is running multiple systems critical to life. If it works fine now, don't mess with it and expose yourself to the possibility of the new system having bugs which could kill people.
Less critical functions can be run on a portable computing device like a laptop. These can be upgraded more frequently since they don't have to be tested as thoroughly as the mission-critical systems are. Due to the fast pace at which computing technology improves, this frequently results in situations where the portable computing device is more powerful than the built-in systems. On many early shuttle flights, the most powerful computer on board was the HP-41 calculator.
I remember reading about an interview with one astronaut, who said that the most spectacular sight he saw in outer space was when his urine was ejected from the capsule. It immediately froze, crystallized and exploded, and was brilliantly illuminated by the sunlight.
I tried to google for this reference, but only came up with this: http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/090911-space-water-dump.html
It's nice to see that astronauts use their precious bodily fluids to entertain stargazers.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
I just think they should have to best resources to help their research in space.
Now we'll never know if ants can be taught to sort tiny screws in space!
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
I understand how they like the reliability of the old machines, but it just seems like we should send them up there with only the best technologies as to optimize production.
Seems to me that you'd wanna supply them with the best tool for the job. In an environment like the ISS the best tool would be a very reliable tool.
Optimizing production up there means making sure it works, always and forever. Since you can't simply replace broken stuff it's either full production or none..
Life starts at the end of your comfort zone.
During Anderson's time on board he installed a local area network throughout the station, requiring him to run ethernet cable ... upgraded software on the station, either by swapping out old hard drives or updating systems using a CDs or DVDs
So with all of that training, knowledge and the background checks this guy is basically an intern? I thought that these people had PhD's and were doing important research. If that's all you really need to know to become an Astronaut then I'm owed an apology because I was lied to in school.
Check the picture! - Input from four different suns! (And three stars, it seems). I thought Suns WERE stars.. oh well, my mistake.
Are Aliens real? Tell me what you think and why. Please write neatly. Personal Survey. https://docs.google.com/document/d/11_wdMLhh9TgtTE4IOaeFfJ1SVi1WnBHWRkdZoA0nI18/edit?hl=en
Or were they time travelers? Hmmm? It coulda happened.
I suspect that the iPad was named after the iPod to achieve some sort of marketing synnergy. Not the NewsPad.
If Murphy's Law can go wrong, it will.