2009 Or 2011 ?, 1 or 2 ? |
2009 Or 2011 ?, 1 or 2 ? |
May 3 2005, 11:11 AM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 290 Joined: 26-March 04 From: Edam, The Netherlands Member No.: 65 |
Does anybody know when and how many MSL will go, or when the decision on this will be made ?
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May 4 2005, 11:33 AM
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#2
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14433 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
#3 is the only one that could derive engineering changes from #1.
You have 26 months from launch-to-launch Call 8 months of that the cruise (sometimes more, sometimes less) - so you have 18 months. The MER's spent about 6 months at KSC being checked out, bolted together and stock on a firework. - Giving you 12 months to define, design, build, test, rebuild, retest, integrate, and re-test at system level any changes you want - and then re-test at a system level to ensure your changes dont impinge on any other part of the spacecraft. The only changes I could imagine being feasable are software or instruments. Doug |
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May 4 2005, 01:08 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 290 Joined: 26-March 04 From: Edam, The Netherlands Member No.: 65 |
QUOTE (djellison @ May 4 2005, 11:33 AM) And these changes can be important ones ! I agree though about the timeline and i still feel like i want to see 2 rovers leave in the same window. Make 2 other ones in the next window. Since the breathtaking succes of these two MER's, sending two should be the standard. Not only because of the bigger chance of at least one succesfull mission, not only because of the fact that you get the science of two locations if both succeed, but also because if you start building these kind of machines, you might as well built another one (it's cheaper). A dutch saying says: "on one leg you can't walk" (if someone asks you if you want a second beer). So yes, I want another one !! |
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May 4 2005, 01:36 PM
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#4
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Interplanetary Dumpster Diver Group: Admin Posts: 4404 Joined: 17-February 04 From: Powell, TN Member No.: 33 |
QUOTE (Marcel @ May 4 2005, 01:08 PM) QUOTE (djellison @ May 4 2005, 11:33 AM) And these changes can be important ones ! I agree though about the timeline and i still feel like i want to see 2 rovers leave in the same window. Make 2 other ones in the next window. Since the breathtaking succes of these two MER's, sending two should be the standard. Not only because of the bigger chance of at least one succesfull mission, not only because of the fact that you get the science of two locations if both succeed, but also because if you start building these kind of machines, you might as well built another one (it's cheaper). A dutch saying says: "on one leg you can't walk" (if someone asks you if you want a second beer). So yes, I want another one !! I would think that, using Skycrane, it is a good idea to sent one in 2009, and make sure it sends engineering data all the way down, so if something goes wrong, we have an idea what went wrong. Then, begin sending them two by two in 2011, taking in to account the results in 2009. Granted, if it were a severe problem it couldn't be fixed that quickly, but at least the 2011 MSLs would not have launched yet, so they could be fixed and sent in 2013. I think that unless a safer landing technique is found, this is the way to go. -------------------- |
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