Posted on 08/21/2022 11:43:40 AM PDT by BenLurkin
Lockheed Martin and its collaborators believe having a voice-activated virtual assistant and video calls in the spacecraft would be more convenient for astronauts, affording them access to information away from the crew console. That flexibility might even keep them safer, engineers say.
An experiment to test the technology will ride along with Artemis on its first spaceflight, which could launch as early as Aug. 29. The project, named Callisto after one of Artemis' favorite hunting companions in Greek mythology, is programmed to give crew live answers about the spacecraft's flight status and other data, such as water supply and battery levels. The technology is being paid for by the companies — not NASA.
A custom Alexa system built specifically for the spacecraft will have access to some 120,000 data readouts — more than astronauts have had before, with some bonus information previously only available within Houston's mission control.
No astronaut will actually be onboard Orion for this first mission — unless the dummy in the cockpit counts. But the inaugural 42-day spaceflight, testing various orbits and atmosphere reentry, will clear the way for NASA to send a crew on subsequent missions. Whether a virtual assistant is integrated into the spacecraft for those expeditions depends on a successful demonstration during Artemis I.
To test their Alexa, mission control will use video-conferencing software provided by Cisco Webex to ask questions and give verbal commands inside the spacecraft. Cisco will run its software on an iPad in the capsule. Cameras mounted all over Orion will monitor how it's working.
(Excerpt) Read more at mashable.com ...
Then there is, “Hey Alexa” or “Hey Seri”.
It seems a little late in the program to still have command and control systems operational designs still open.
I’m not easily impressed, but those 2 rockets landing next to each other 2 seconds apart astounded me.
NASA works with Spacex, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumann, not by itself.
Sorry NASA has been forced to work with SpaceX because the primary contractors that it uses have not been delivering. SpaceX does not build their rockets and crew craft to any NASA specifications, SpaceX designs and builds to their own needs and so they have surpassed of NASA's traditional contractors. NASA relies on SpaceX just like it does on Russia for its rocket engines. NASA's new boondoggle Artemis will launch today using "dirty RuZZian" engines.
My bad, they are not Russian engines. I must have misremembered an article from yesterday. The Artemis rockets are using older rocket engines from the space shuttle. No exactly a leap forward but much better than using Russian engines.
The Artemis launch is on August 29, that is the first possible, if it doesn’t go on August 29, it goes on the following Friday, September 2.
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