Topic: =/\= russian "phobos-grunt" mission in serious jeopardy, status unknown

[stoneyface]

i was going to report on the russion phobos grunt mission today with a very excited tone as this craft was going to fly to the mars moon phobos and retrieve samples. unfortunately shortly after launch, mission control became aware of a serious problem with the craft.

at around 20:00 UTC the craft launched apparently successfully.

these articles were my original links for the article and give you a good over all view of the mission and craft...
http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003249/
EDIT: this second article has been updated to current events.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russia-launches-unmanned-probe-to-mars-moon-phobos/2011/11/08/gIQA3Wo61M_story.html

but it seems something went wrong after the craft reached earth orbit. early reports were very sketchy and unreliable. as events unfold it has become clear that there was at least 2 unplanned thruster burns to try to change the orbit and break the craft free of earth orbit and send it on it's way to mars.
i have found this site which has some information and is crossing out bad information as it is discovered and noting unreliable sources.
http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00003251/

more news as it comes in.

EDIT: the craft appears to still be in LEO (low earth orbit), russian science team states that if it is a software problem, it can be fixed and the mission can continue. if it is a hardware problem then the mission has failed.
others feel the same as i do after reading this statement, it feels like a very obvious statement and probably was released just as a filler until more can be found out.

EDIT2: after rocket booster separation, the main engines failed to ignite that would have carried the craft out of earth orbit and towards it's destination...

EDIT3: latest press release states that the first and second "correction burns" never happened. apparently there is a problem internally with the circuits relaying burn instructions...


my second story for today was to be a very short blurb on a new invention that i think is spectacular! i have had a fascination with bee keeping for a while and hope to someday have some hives of my own. i saw this new "urban" beehive developed by philips. i think it is brilliant!!! and what a sexy design! http://inhabitat.com/philips-unveils-sexy-concept-bee-keeping-gadget/

[marstone]

it is a nice design but not sure how good it would work in the long run.  Opening it in your house would be an interesting thing, trying to keep the bees at the hive and hot flying around your home.    A more traditional hive would probably be better for you Stoney.

[knightstorm]

I'm with Marstone, as much as I'd like fresh honey, you'd have to have a lot of faith in the design of that hive in order to trust it in your window.  Another problem would be that even if the bees can't get into your home, would you really want to walk under a bee hive when you went outside?  They claim it's going to be marketed to people in houses and apartments, but I can't see any landlord allowing you to put something like that in your window, since the bees might menace your neighbors.

[marstone]

Well, New York has laws and rules for rooftop beehives so it is done.  Honey bees are very peaceful overall so I wouldn't worry about them around my house, just maintenance of the hive would be troublesome.  In my area the adhesive that holds it to the glass would have to be awesome with how cold it gets here (-20 and more is not uncommon).  Also, since it would be in my home the bees would be kept warm and they would be more active eating more food, but not having anyplace to get more during our winter months (also a long time).

It is a neat idea, and would like to see more on how it works on the long term.

[marstone]

The rest of the home that the beehive belongs to is an interesting read also.  Some interesting concepts.

http://inhabitat.com/philips-microbial-home-design-features-fascinating-eco-innovations-like-bacteria-powered-lamps/

[Panzergranate]

Obviously the Windows 7 operating system they were using with the spacecraft had issues with the compatability with the drivers used to control the thrusters....

Can anyone imagine Russian Mission Control having "Windows is searching for a solution to this problem...." appearing on all the screens there??

this, of coure, would have been preceeded by the message "Are you sure you want to ignite thrusters??" followed by the inevitable message "Thruster drivers are incompatible with this version of Windows 7".

Is the software fix to the problem to try a remote reinstall of Windows 7 in the spacecraft??

If they are really really desperate and want to be told to do everything that they've already tried to solve the problem, by somebody who does not actually understand the problem they could:

(A) Phone Microsoft's "help" desk.

(B) Consult PC World's tech guys.

[stoneyface]

Obviously the Windows 7 operating system they were using with the spacecraft had issues with the compatability with the drivers used to control the thrusters....

Can anyone imagine Russian Mission Control having "Windows is searching for a solution to this problem...." appearing on all the screens there??

this, of coure, would have been preceeded by the message "Are you sure you want to ignite thrusters??" followed by the inevitable message "Thruster drivers are incompatible with this version of Windows 7".

Is the software fix to the problem to try a remote reinstall of Windows 7 in the spacecraft??

If they are really really desperate and want to be told to do everything that they've already tried to solve the problem, by somebody who does not actually understand the problem they could:

(A) Phone Microsoft's "help" desk.

(B) Consult PC World's tech guys.

lol where did this come from?

[stoneyface]

the latest updates can be read here. from what i am reading and also hearing from others watching this unfold (including one friendly russian i know), it doesn't look good. they had 3 days before the batteries would be flat and they apparently cannot recharge the batteries with the solar panels. they either get it fixed today sometime or it slowly dies tomorrow and probably falls to earth. sigh. that is really too bad because this was a very important mission and it has set back the russian space program at least 3-4 years.

i wish our comrades in the russian space program all the best of luck. i really do hope that they can pull out a miracle. it would be nice to see a heroic recovery it will do wonders for not just the russian space program but the global space program in general.

please check here for updates. it has been the best most reliable source so far for me: http://www.russianspaceweb.com/phobos_grunt_launch.html

peace