Mars rover Spirit's 6-year stint may be ending: NASA
Sam Wormley
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC9YLx1MU6pA
(AFP) � 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON � NASA Sunday celebrated Mars rover Spirit's bountiful,
six-year stint on the red planet, way longer than the three months it
was forecast to last. But it all may soon come to an end, stuck as it is
in Martian sand.
The tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot broke through a
crusty surface layer to strike sand in April at one edge of the Troy
crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, in the Martian southern hemisphere.
All attempts to extricate it have failed so far. The last time, in
November, not only did the robot not budge from its place, but its right
rear wheel broke down. Its right front wheel stopped working in 2006
probably due to a worn out electric motor.
More:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC9YLx1MU6pA
Yemini Eminies
"Sam Wormley" <swor...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:j8ednY5E9J6U1tzW...@mchsi.com...
> Mars rover Spirit's 6-year stint may be ending: NASA
> http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC9YLx1MU6pA
> (AFP) � 3 hours ago
>
> WASHINGTON � NASA Sunday celebrated Mars rover Spirit's bountiful,
Sam Wormley
> Don't cry !
>
>
> "Sam Wormley"<swor...@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:j8ednY5E9J6U1tzW...@mchsi.com...
>> Mars rover Spirit's 6-year stint may be ending: NASA
>> http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC9YLx1MU6pA
>>
>> six-year stint on the red planet, way longer than the three months it was
>> forecast to last. But it all may soon come to an end, stuck as it is in
>> Martian sand.
>>
>> The tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot broke through a
>> crusty surface layer to strike sand in April at one edge of the Troy
>> crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, in the Martian southern
>> hemisphere.
>>
>> All attempts to extricate it have failed so far. The last time, in
>> November, not only did the robot not budge from its place, but its right
>> rear wheel broke down. Its right front wheel stopped working in 2006
>> probably due to a worn out electric motor.
>>
>> More:
>> http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC9YLx1MU6pA
>
>
I'll try not to.
Ken S. Tucker
> Mars rover Spirit's 6-year stint may be ending: NASAhttp://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC...
> (AFP) – 3 hours ago
>
> WASHINGTON — NASA Sunday celebrated Mars rover Spirit's bountiful,
> six-year stint on the red planet, way longer than the three months it
> was forecast to last. But it all may soon come to an end, stuck as it is
> in Martian sand.
>
> The tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot broke through a
> crusty surface layer to strike sand in April at one edge of the Troy
> crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, in the Martian southern hemisphere.
>
> All attempts to extricate it have failed so far. The last time, in
> November, not only did the robot not budge from its place, but its right
> rear wheel broke down. Its right front wheel stopped working in 2006
> probably due to a worn out electric motor.
>
As a teen (late 60's) I installed TV towers, antennae and rotators.
Those rotators never failed, I was told lightning could do it but
never
had one fail, and they're exposed to harsh weather and rain, and
are more complicated than turning a cheap wheel, like those rovers
have.
Fast forward 30 years to the 90's and NASA gets some cheapo
junk, that breaks alot, WTF, "a worn out electric motor", hello,
anybody home(?), somebody fucked up, they should have come
to Ken's Antenna Service depot and got some quality stuff.
I'd even give them an extended warranty!
Ken
Sam Wormley
> On Jan 3, 5:57 pm, Sam Wormley<sworml...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Mars rover Spirit's 6-year stint may be ending: NASAhttp://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC...
>>
>> six-year stint on the red planet, way longer than the three months it
>> was forecast to last. But it all may soon come to an end, stuck as it is
>> in Martian sand.
>>
>> The tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot broke through a
>> crusty surface layer to strike sand in April at one edge of the Troy
>> crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, in the Martian southern hemisphere.
>>
>> All attempts to extricate it have failed so far. The last time, in
>> November, not only did the robot not budge from its place, but its right
>> rear wheel broke down. Its right front wheel stopped working in 2006
>> probably due to a worn out electric motor.
>>
>> More:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC...
>
> As a teen (late 60's) I installed TV towers, antennae and rotators.
> Those rotators never failed, I was told lightning could do it but never
> had one fail, and they're exposed to harsh weather and rain, and
> are more complicated than turning a cheap wheel, like those rovers have.
> Fast forward 30 years to the 90's and NASA gets some cheapo
> junk, that breaks alot, WTF, "a worn out electric motor", hello,
> anybody home(?), somebody fucked up, they should have come
> to Ken's Antenna Service depot and got some quality stuff.
> I'd even give them an extended warranty!
> Ken
Have you cycled your antenna rotators 100+ degrees every night for
six years in blowing sand? What lubricants do you use at -100� C ?
jerry warner
Sam Wormley wrote:
> On 1/3/10 9:58 PM, Ken S. Tucker wrote:
> > On Jan 3, 5:57 pm, Sam Wormley<sworml...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Mars rover Spirit's 6-year stint may be ending: NASAhttp://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC...
> >> (AFP) � 3 hours ago
> >>
> >> WASHINGTON � NASA Sunday celebrated Mars rover Spirit's bountiful,
> >> six-year stint on the red planet, way longer than the three months it
> >> was forecast to last. But it all may soon come to an end, stuck as it is
> >> in Martian sand.
> >>
> >> The tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot broke through a
> >> crusty surface layer to strike sand in April at one edge of the Troy
> >> crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, in the Martian southern hemisphere.
> >>
> >> All attempts to extricate it have failed so far. The last time, in
> >> November, not only did the robot not budge from its place, but its right
> >> rear wheel broke down. Its right front wheel stopped working in 2006
> >> probably due to a worn out electric motor.
> >>
> >> More:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC...
> >
> > As a teen (late 60's) I installed TV towers, antennae and rotators.
> > Those rotators never failed, I was told lightning could do it but never
> > had one fail, and they're exposed to harsh weather and rain, and
> > are more complicated than turning a cheap wheel, like those rovers have.
> > Fast forward 30 years to the 90's and NASA gets some cheapo
> > junk, that breaks alot, WTF, "a worn out electric motor", hello,
> > anybody home(?), somebody fucked up, they should have come
> > to Ken's Antenna Service depot and got some quality stuff.
> > I'd even give them an extended warranty!
> > Ken
>
> Have you cycled your antenna rotators 100+ degrees every night for
> six years in blowing sand? What lubricants do you use at -100� C ?
He uses Bar Greece, as in 'Kild Dat Bar On Dat Tree'
(Davy Crocket). Bar Geece never fails. Black Bar is best-est.
(smile)
Sam Wormley
>
>
> Sam Wormley wrote:
>
>> On 1/3/10 9:58 PM, Ken S. Tucker wrote:
>>> On Jan 3, 5:57 pm, Sam Wormley<sworml...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> Mars rover Spirit's 6-year stint may be ending: NASAhttp://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC...
>>>>
>>>> six-year stint on the red planet, way longer than the three months it
>>>> was forecast to last. But it all may soon come to an end, stuck as it is
>>>> in Martian sand.
>>>>
>>>> The tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot broke through a
>>>> crusty surface layer to strike sand in April at one edge of the Troy
>>>> crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, in the Martian southern hemisphere.
>>>>
>>>> All attempts to extricate it have failed so far. The last time, in
>>>> November, not only did the robot not budge from its place, but its right
>>>> rear wheel broke down. Its right front wheel stopped working in 2006
>>>> probably due to a worn out electric motor.
>>>>
>>>> More:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC...
>>>
>>> As a teen (late 60's) I installed TV towers, antennae and rotators.
>>> Those rotators never failed, I was told lightning could do it but never
>>> had one fail, and they're exposed to harsh weather and rain, and
>>> are more complicated than turning a cheap wheel, like those rovers have.
>>> Fast forward 30 years to the 90's and NASA gets some cheapo
>>> junk, that breaks alot, WTF, "a worn out electric motor", hello,
>>> anybody home(?), somebody fucked up, they should have come
>>> to Ken's Antenna Service depot and got some quality stuff.
>>> I'd even give them an extended warranty!
>>> Ken
>>
>> Have you cycled your antenna rotators 100+ degrees every night for
>
> He uses Bar Greece, as in 'Kild Dat Bar On Dat Tree'
> (Davy Crocket). Bar Geece never fails. Black Bar is best-est.
>
> (smile)
>
Jerry--Did your email ever come back to normal. I abandoned
my ISP's email as you can tell in the header.
Bar Greece--Good one!
Ken S. Tucker
> On 1/3/10 9:58 PM, Ken S. Tucker wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Jan 3, 5:57 pm, Sam Wormley<sworml...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Mars rover Spirit's 6-year stint may be ending: NASAhttp://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC...
>
> >> WASHINGTON — NASA Sunday celebrated Mars rover Spirit's bountiful,
> >> six-year stint on the red planet, way longer than the three months it
> >> was forecast to last. But it all may soon come to an end, stuck as it is
> >> in Martian sand.
>
> >> The tireless, 180-kilogram (400-pound), six-wheel robot broke through a
> >> crusty surface layer to strike sand in April at one edge of the Troy
> >> crater, west of the Home Plate plateau, in the Martian southern hemisphere.
>
> >> All attempts to extricate it have failed so far. The last time, in
> >> November, not only did the robot not budge from its place, but its right
> >> rear wheel broke down. Its right front wheel stopped working in 2006
> >> probably due to a worn out electric motor.
>
> >> More:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iXtJNJpehcTavE1FoC...
>
> > As a teen (late 60's) I installed TV towers, antennae and rotators.
> > Those rotators never failed, I was told lightning could do it but never
> > had one fail, and they're exposed to harsh weather and rain, and
> > are more complicated than turning a cheap wheel, like those rovers have.
> > Fast forward 30 years to the 90's and NASA gets some cheapo
> > junk, that breaks alot, WTF, "a worn out electric motor", hello,
> > anybody home(?), somebody fucked up, they should have come
> > to Ken's Antenna Service depot and got some quality stuff.
> > I'd even give them an extended warranty!
> > Ken
>
> Have you cycled your antenna rotators 100+ degrees every night for
We own General Electric, contact them, tell them I sent you.
In the meantime, I'll go cook an egg on a Teflon frying pan that's
made from graphite.
I wonder what sort of materials are used in cyrogenic He tank valve
control, what's that 4.22 Kelvin (?), (-268C).
I've tested antenna rotators to -40C, twisting a significant torque,
a large hi-gain antenna, no problem, so turning a chinzy little wheel
on a rover at -100C is no problem.
Anyway GE can help ya.
Ken
Chris L Peterson
<dyna...@vianet.on.ca> wrote:
>I've tested antenna rotators to -40C, twisting a significant torque,
>a large hi-gain antenna, no problem, so turning a chinzy little wheel
>on a rover at -100C is no problem.
Your antenna rotator probably didn't have to be ultralight. It didn't
have to operate over the Martian temperature range, in a near vacuum,
with loads of ultrafine, corrosive dust. The wheel motor failed at about
nine times the planned duration of the mission. I wonder how many
antenna rotators last nine times their design life?
_________________________________________________
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
http://www.cloudbait.com
Ken S. Tucker
> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 21:22:23 -0800 (PST), "Ken S. Tucker"
>
> >I've tested antenna rotators to -40C, twisting a significant torque,
> >a large hi-gain antenna, no problem, so turning a chinzy little wheel
> >on a rover at -100C is no problem.
>
> Your antenna rotator probably didn't have to be ultralight. It didn't
> have to operate over the Martian temperature range, in a near vacuum,
> with loads of ultrafine, corrosive dust. The wheel motor failed at about
> nine times the planned duration of the mission. I wonder how many
> antenna rotators last nine times their design life?
As a hobby I designed a product with 3 internal amplifiers,
http://www.trak4.com/earco/index.html
15 years ago, the orders are still coming in, and none have failed!
I had the good fortune to learn from master electronic designers.
We provide a 2 year Warranty on the EAR's but I can do a 15 year
warranty based on experience for $200, that is subject to -40F to
140F. We had a failure in Northern Alberta (-50 or 60 F), because
they're dog chewed the wires. We fixed at cost, you see, we don't
want to profit on service, why?, because that tends to suggest a
reduction in quality at the front end, so that's why C-Dyn services
at cost and sells ultra high quality products right off the bat.
As 'chief designer' I gotta look at any unit that fails, well excuse
me, I do so when necessary, but I test every unit to my satisfaction
so it won't fail!
That's a work ethic and a QC policy.
I learned that installing TV's and antenna's in the 60's as a teen.
A fella would have a Black & White TV with rabbit ears and he'd
order a surprise for his family for Xmas, so what we'd do is put
up a high gain directional rotatable antenna on a tower and then
drop in a 26" fancy pants Color TV. Wow, you should see the
look on the faces of the wife and brats and the pride of the old
boy who spent $1300 for the system, which was pretty penny,
so I (we) made sure it worked really good forever.
My work ethic has improved since then.
Ken
Jacob Pc
does SAA become the dumping ground for would-be salesmen? Get a life
"Ken S. Tucker" <dyna...@vianet.on.ca> wrote in message
news:b85fb0c8-819c-46d6...@j4g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
Chris L Peterson
<dyna...@vianet.on.ca> wrote:
>As a hobby I designed a product with 3 internal amplifiers,
>http://www.trak4.com/earco/index.html
>15 years ago, the orders are still coming in, and none have failed!
I don't see the point. It isn't necessarily an indicator of good design
if something lasts 15 years. What were the design specs, the design
constraints, and the design life? A good design is one that lasts as
long as it needs to last. Something that is overdesigned doesn't reflect
good engineering any more than something which is underdesigned.
The systems on board Spirit have all met or exceeded their design goals.
Where's the engineering or QC failure?
Yemini Eminies
wind chills do.
"Ken S. Tucker" <dyna...@vianet.on.ca> wrote in message
news:b85fb0c8-819c-46d6...@j4g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
Yemini Eminies
often !
"Jacob Pc" <jac...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:hhsjtu$iv6$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
Ken S. Tucker
> This horseshit sounds more like an advertisement than useful info! When
> does SAA become the dumping ground for would-be salesmen? Get a life
WHoooosh............
A prof told me 85% of people are assholes, I find Jacob not in the
15%.
SAA is ALL ABOUT QUALITY INSTRUMENTATION!
I received as gift a Bell & Howell 10x50 binocular, the instrument
was
unsatisfactory for me, so regifted them and the next fella thinks they
are very good, but we have very high quality standards.
Ken
> "Ken S. Tucker" <dynam...@vianet.on.ca> wrote in messagenews:b85fb0c8-819c-46d6...@j4g2000yqe.googlegroups.com...
Ken S. Tucker
> You're lying..
I don't know you, don't want too either, you have a stupid name.
PLONK!
Ken S. Tucker
> On Sun, 3 Jan 2010 22:30:25 -0800 (PST), "Ken S. Tucker"
>
> >As a hobby I designed a product with 3 internal amplifiers,
> >http://www.trak4.com/earco/index.html
> >15 years ago, the orders are still coming in, and none have failed!
>
> I don't see the point. It isn't necessarily an indicator of good design
> if something lasts 15 years. What were the design specs, the design
> constraints, and the design life? A good design is one that lasts as
> long as it needs to last. Something that is overdesigned doesn't reflect
> good engineering any more than something which is underdesigned.
>
> The systems on board Spirit have all met or exceeded their design goals.
What was that warranty?
> Where's the engineering or QC failure?
If your engine seizes up with 15 miles on the odomenter I'd complain.
I bought a Black&Decker Skill saw in 1980, and have built about 8
buildings with it, works as good as the day I bought it. I just built
a
house with it, paid maybe $30 back then, and it's been subject to a
lot of dust and stop go 10,000 times.
Here's a cottage we (wife and I) just built,
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dynamics/
We built all the furniture/cabinets too,
so obviously I'm an expert, and for 30 years an electric motor has
been working perfectly, and that's just one example.
I had a pair of frigs that have been purring since the 1950's,
sold them a couple of years ago, that's 50 years! Grrr.
Ken
Chris L Peterson
<dyna...@vianet.on.ca> wrote:
>If your engine seizes up with 15 miles on the odomenter I'd complain.
Me too. But the motor on Spirit delivered equivalent performance to your
car going about a million miles. Would you complain about that?
Davoud
> >If your engine seizes up with 15 miles on the odomenter I'd complain.
Chris L Peterson:
> Me too. But the motor on Spirit delivered equivalent performance to your
> car going about a million miles.
In a sandstorm in the arctic and the Sahara with no grease jobs or oil
changes, no winter tires, upholstery never vacuumed...
> Would you complain about that?
Depends. If my Toyota quit after only a million miles of harsh driving
I'd be surprised and upset.
Davoud
--
I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that
you will say in your entire life.
usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm
Rich
news:f8dd0a05-5024-4d9c...@m16g2000yqc.googlegroups.com:
I guess sealed bearings would have weighed too much? Still, lets give
the Rovers their due, they are probably the most successful NASA products
aside from the Hubble.
Now, if the F--- heads at NASA would de-orbit the ISS and STOP wasting
time trying to justify their existence by supporting global warming
theory, we could see MORE products like the Rovers.
Ice Corrs
Morten Reistad
For the cost of the ISS we could have had 5 more Hubble's, even a
couple in the lagrange-point behind the moon, we could have made
a dozen soho and stereo missions (oh, wait; SoHo is European, they
just paid Nasa to put it into orbit); we could have had 2-3 missions
to _every_ planet and major moon, we could have a fleet of spirits
here, there and everywhere; and even a few zeppeliners on Jupiter, and
maybe, maybe on Venus. We could make tracks on the Moon again.
We could have done another dozen measurement probes for odd parts of
the spectrum, like cobe, and still have had money left over for
a few dozen earth probes, so we could get the data, in glorious detail,
on whatever global termperature shifts there may be; and let the rest
of us conclude.
All of this sums up to 10-15 2-3 billion$ projects, and 70 billion$ones.
About the same we used on the ISS, so far.
It is the ISS that is the madness of money waste. Give it to the chinese.
-- mrr