MSL Video |
MSL Video |
Jun 5 2006, 08:54 PM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 321 Joined: 6-April 06 From: Cape Canaveral Member No.: 734 |
Saw the MSL video, which was similar to the MER video. It was awesome. Will try to get a copy
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Nov 22 2006, 08:11 PM
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#2
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14448 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
If you describe to yourself the process of the MPF and MER landings, and then do the same for the MSL landing...neither is particularly confidence inspiriing.
The thing to remember is that there is only one team of working age in the world that has landed on Mars, and it's done it three times. If they think that the MSL system is the way forward, to be brutally honest there isn't really anyone out there to challenge that imho. " The long descent with retro rockets will be treacherous and unpredictable." Well - that's no different to Viking (worked twice) - and indeed given that it's from only 900m altitiude, the MSL decent stage will be working for a shorter period of time than that for Viking probably. We did that 25 years ago.... to call it treacherous and unpredictable today is not true. There was no full scale testing for Pathfinder, Viking, MER...you just can not test that sort of stuff on Earth - there's no way to replicate the conditions. You can test systems, you can simulate based on those systems - but you just have to build enough smarts and flexibility into the system to mitigate the risk. And as someone else has mentioned - the bags just don't 'do' bigger....and as it is they take up a HUGE ammount of the payload. For a delivered rover of 180kg, you have 827kg hitting the top of the atmosphere. Scale it all up - a 500kg rover - we're talkig 2300 kg at the top of the atmosphere. The bags are good up to a certain point - but beyond that, they just don't make any more sense. Doug |
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Nov 23 2006, 11:58 AM
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#3
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2173 Joined: 28-December 04 From: Florida, USA Member No.: 132 |
The thing to remember is that there is only one team of working age in the world that has landed on Mars, and it's done it three times. No disrespect meant, I'm a big fan of those guys, but this is the point at which one must be on the lookout for hubris. I hope they keep their edge and do not get over confident. |
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Nov 23 2006, 12:25 PM
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#4
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Special Cookie Group: Members Posts: 2168 Joined: 6-April 05 From: Sintra | Portugal Member No.: 228 |
No disrespect meant, I'm a big fan of those guys, but this is the point at which one must be on the lookout for hubris. I hope they keep their edge and do not get over confident. I'm sure that when the airbag idea appeared there were also comments regarding the lunacy of the idea... The time is to innovate and...roll! -------------------- "Ride, boldly ride," The shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!"
Edgar Alan Poe |
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