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Could a Dirty Rag Take Out a $2 Billion Satellite?

Posted by Soulskill on from the dumb-mistakes-cost-the-most dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The alleged rescue of a U.S. military communications satellite underscores some of the weaknesses in U.S. space efforts. Quoting: 'The seven-ton “AEHF-1,” part of a planned six-satellite constellation meant to support radio communication between far-flung U.S. military units, had been in orbit just one day when the problems began. The satellite started out in a highly-elliptical, temporary orbit. The plan was to use the spacecraft’s on-board engine to boost it to a permanent, geo-stationary orbit. But when the Air Force space operators at Los Angeles Air Force Base activated the engine, nothing happened. The Government Accountability Office would later blame the failure on a rag left inside a fuel line by a Lockheed worker.'"

6 of 297 comments (clear)

  1. Lockheed gonna get sued? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Seems like the gov't should sue lockheed for failing to deliver the working satellite as contracted.

    Hopefully that'll happen (which will probably leave that worker jobless) and we'll get some of our tax dollars back.

    Shhh... I can dream!

    1. Re:Lockheed gonna get sued? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Seems like the gov't should sue lockheed for failing to deliver the working satellite as contracted.

      Hopefully that'll happen (which will probably leave that worker jobless) and we'll get some of our tax dollars back.

      Shhh... I can dream!

      Lockheed wouldn't piss off their biggest spender. They'll pay back in the form of a "credit" for some kind of services that have the highest margin for Lockheed. The guy who screwed up and his boss will get fired for sure, and then they will have some business analyst examine their QA process and add a little redundancy in the inspection policies. Nothing to see here folks.

      Isn't that what should happen? I mean, when did the world suddenly decide that anytime anyone makes an honest mistake they should be crucified for it forever? If there is restitution for lost funds as well as improvements to try to prevent a repetition of the same problem, shouldn't everyone involved be satisfied? I'm fairly certain that the OP's hope that we all get some kind of tax refund is probably not going to happen, and even if it did, you'd be talking about a few dollars per person at most.

    2. Re:Lockheed gonna get sued? by DJ+Jones · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually that whole 49% figure is misleading. The element of "time" is conveniently left out. 49% of Americans at any given "time" do not pay income tax, not because they are lazy, poor, freeloading citizens but because they are either too young to earn income or retired. In actuality, over 90% of Americans pay income tax at some point in their lifetimes.

    3. Re:Lockheed gonna get sued? by Hatta · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I mean, when did the world suddenly decide that anytime anyone makes an honest mistake they should be crucified for it forever?

      Forgetting a rag is an honest mistake. Failing to plan for honest mistakes by implementing the appropriate checks into your process is negligence.

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      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  2. Lots of failures there. by Lumpy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Assembly failure - leave a rag.
    Inspection failure - did not check for rag.
    Pre-flight final inspection - still did not find the rag.

    Wow, complete failure all the way down the line from assembly to mating with the launch vehicle.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  3. Re:Hmm...scale does not compute. by SwedishChef · · Score: 5, Insightful

    More seriously, why wouldn't groundside testing notice that there was a rag in the line?

    Some of these positioning rockets are single-use. If you test one you have to build another to replace it. And then test it. And then.....

    --
    No one ever had to evacuate a city because the solar panels broke!