Experts Urge a Reprieve for the Hubble Space Telescope

NY Times ^ | 08/15/03 | DENNIS OVERBYE

[RadioAstronomer]

I felt bad for a graduate student who had helped with every stage of the process, but had to find a different topic because of a lack of satellite to take any data. How depressing is that?

That is really a blow. I would have been devastated.

How is he/she doing now?

[LibKill]

"It's old, but it's good."

[PatrickHenry]

The companion Clark satellite (yes they were named for the famous Lewis and Clark) was canceled and never launched.

I'm getting the impression that NASA's record with launching satellites is even worse than my record with the ladies.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

That's a real drag.

[RadioAstronomer]

I'm getting the impression that NASA's record with launching satellites is even worse than my record with the ladies.

Welcome to "faster better cheaper"! Sigh.

[RadioAstronomer]

than my record with the ladies.

ROFL!

[PatrickHenry]

Well, faster and cheaper anyway.

[RadioAstronomer]

The ladies or the satellites?

[PatrickHenry]

Please. This is a family-oriented thread.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for all the great information and explanations! It's a bit more than I can digest on a Saturday afternoon, but I look forward to reading it again this evening. Hugs!

[RadioAstronomer]

Please. This is a family-oriented thread.

My apologies.

[RadioAstronomer]

Awwww...! :-)

Your welcome.

[PatrickHenry]

My apologies.

Verily, you are in full compliance with the agreement.

[MikeD]

Speaking of technical failures -- my group launched a sounding rocket in April. Everything worked perfectly except for a high voltage short in the power supplies, which were in a transition section between the nosecone and the main experiment. We took everything back and tested -- come to find out a connector in the transition section melted during launch. The melting connector outgassed enough to raise the pressure inside the transition section to 1/1000 of an atmosphere. That is a low pressure, but high compared to the vacuum of space. It's also the perfect pressure for a high voltage breakdown given the geometry of our power supplies.

For the upcoming refly we're placing the power supplies in the vacuum section to prevent such a short again. The kicker is we also have a graduate student attached to this project. Even more incentive to get everything right this time...

MD

[ThinkPlease]

Even more incentive to get everything right this time...

Indeed. Good luck!

[skinkinthegrass]

Ohhh! I know that...with the length and breath of the cosmos, He's worried about....X# of miles. I know volume vs linear, my mistake. :))

[skinkinthegrass]

The stable Lagrange Points are much further out. They fall within the orbit that the moon sweeps out. So those points are on the lunar orbit track both leading and laging the moon by 60 degrees.

(Scottie voice/on) Aye,Aye, Captain Kirk (Scottie voice/off)

..I think I'll remain a groundhog...gazing @ the cosmos. :)

[Neuromancer]

DELTA-V

Subsequent ephemerides
Are altered
By her
Touch

[PatrickHenry]

P L A C E M A R K E R

[RadioAstronomer]

Subsequent ephemerides
Are altered
By her
Touch

Way cool way of putting it. :-)