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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.
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.
"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
Would the iPad orientation sensor get confused when used in zero g environment? Does it use gravity to determine which way is up? What about gps do you get wimpy gps readings when using a gps receiver in space?
Ground control to Major Tom, defragging disk and antivirus on...
No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Well the big problem that sticks out in my mind is the fact that these are cheap crappy consumer versions of technology that's been well established in business and industry. While newer tech might be better and even touch screens might be better, they are kind of glossing over the whole "rugged" thing. This both includes the physical aspects of the product as well as how data and programs on it are managed.
There was a nice exchange in one of the Trek novels about this. Something about being able to break things down and fix them yourself when you're off in space all by yourself.
A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
3:55:01pm (Foursquare) AstroTom has checked in at Chicago's Miracle mile!
3:55:51pm (Foursquare) AstroTom has checked in at The Cleveland Zoo!
3:56:31pm (Foursquare) AstroTom has checked in at Times Square!
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.
An iPad, or any one-piece touchscreen tablet running a modern operating system with an absolute minimum of moving/removable parts would be ideally suited to the space station environment. Light, small, durable and very unlikely to break, it would be much better than anything with many small moving parts (laptop with a keyboard, e.g.), and it would have 100% solid state storage. What's with the hate?
The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. - Albert Einstein
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.
A few interesting things about GPS in space:
a) All GPS receivers capable of sensing a position higher than 11 miles or a velocity higher than 515 meters/sec are classified as munitions and require state department licenses to export... Pretty much no consumer GPS receiver, including the iPad is going to be able to find itself in orbit. OTOH, the Space Shuttle itself uses GPS for space navigation, and I'm sure the ISS has a GPS receiver on board as well that can find its own location.
b) The GPS satellites orbit at 20,000 km, while the ISS orbits at 350km... The strength of the signal isn't really all that affected.
Make me a friend and I'll mod you up
It's this kind of unprovoked, snarky assholery that I absolutely hate. GP didn't say anything inflammatory or ignorant, but you (and a few mods, as it seems) think it's acceptable to flame his post. Why?
They'd weigh the same? A laptop can be closed to protect it when it inevitably floats off one day?
Yeah, they'd weigh the same, but they definitely aren't used the same. I would think the ipad (or any tablet) would be more convenient than a laptop since it is designed to be used with one hand while holding it with the other. Laptops most likely need to be fastened to the ISS in some way in order to type on them. You can't simply use a laptop while floating in zero-g as it'd need a force to counter the force of your typing. If the astronauts were to have tablets instead, then they could take notes (or whatever astronauts do on the ISS) from any orientation.
Absolutely. The ISS doesn't have any computers built into it, and all flight computing, life support control, etc. is done on the same computers that the astronauts use for their email, so computational power is paramount.
Does this sentence have a point? Are you implying that GP thinks the ISS...? I don't know what you're implying! Your audience shouldn't have to decipher your patronizing sarcasm to understand your argument.
Don't be a jerk.