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Hubble is back

nasa.gov

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Re: Hubble is back

#21

Post by jjuhl »

TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #15
protomyth wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If JavaScript was specified to the same degree as the Hubble telescope then the OP wouldn't have had a problem. Blaming gdubs's education is a bit problematic.

The ECMAScript spec is actually quite thorough and freely available to read online. In addition, it has a very large suite of tests to check for compliance. I don't think there's any other language with as many independent production-quality implementations. In what way do you think it could be better specified?

"I don't think there's any other language with as many independent production-quality implementations." - C++?

Re: Hubble is back

#22

Post by jrootabega »

elboru wrote: post #20
jrootabega wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also fun to compare programming to surgery, where they work for hours straight with no backup on a production system that is actively trying to die.

It has always amazed how hard it must be to debug an issue in a human being, you need to check A, B, and C, but if you check C your human will be scared since it could indicate your human has cancer, if you check B it will be expensive since it involves a lot of studies, you can also check with A giving some medicament but it also is expensive and maybe other people needed more. So you end up testing all three, but n…

Perfect explanation for why for House, M.D. was so entertaining.

Re: Hubble is back

#23

Post by kabdib »

gdubs wrote: post #2

“Last week the operations team commanded Hubble to perform numerous maneuvers, or turns, and switched the gyro between different operational modes, which successfully cleared what was believed to be blockage between components inside the gyro” And here I am on Earth, barely capable of debugging JavaScript code.

Henry S F Cooper's book _The Evening Star_ describes similar solar-system-scale distance debugging of a race condition on the Magellan Venus orbiter. Pretty tense stuff; the stakes are high, the tools and insight to the actual problems are poor, and if you screw up badly enough you wind up with a dead spacecraft.

Re: Hubble is back

#24

Post by sosorry44 »

larkeith wrote: post #16

I will never cease to be impressed by the sheer skill and quality of design at NASA, that allows them to keep missions like Hubble or Opportunity operating far beyond their planned lifetimes.

It amazes me that they are still in contact with the voyager probes. NASA does some amazing stuff.

Re: Hubble is back

#26

Post by flyinglizard »

wereHamster wrote: post #6
gdubs wrote: post #2

“Last week the operations team commanded Hubble to perform numerous maneuvers, or turns, and switched the gyro between different operational modes, which successfully cleared what was believed to be blockage between components inside the gyro” And here I am on Earth, barely capable of debugging JavaScript code.

> And here I am on Earth, barely capable of debugging JavaScript code. If as much education was required of software engineers as it is from people who work on the Hubble telescope then you wouldn't have any troubles debugging JavaScript.

Nothing to do with education; it’s all about operating procedures. Hubble has a large and well funded team behind it that generally operates on much longer timelines. Everything is engineered and documented to a tee. Hubble mission spans around 30 years now, from concept and until today; very possible that for some people, Hubble is the only thing they experienced in their profession.

Obviously such measures would be very much impractical outside of NASA.

Re: Hubble is back

#28

Post by hutzlibu »

jrootabega wrote: post #7
gdubs wrote: post #2

“Last week the operations team commanded Hubble to perform numerous maneuvers, or turns, and switched the gyro between different operational modes, which successfully cleared what was believed to be blockage between components inside the gyro” And here I am on Earth, barely capable of debugging JavaScript code.

It's also fun to compare programming to surgery, where they work for hours straight with no backup on a production system that is actively trying to die.

True.

But also surgeons make misstakes. Lots of them. Or don't find the perfect solution in time, needed to save someones live.

Re: Hubble is back

#29

Post by pmorici »

SpikeDad wrote: post #18

Reading about the specs and the planned degradation of the gyros is a very interesting exercise in planned reduction of a service. They know the gyros will eventually give out and they have contingency plans around what kinds of science they can continue to do even when they're down to 1 gyro. Very impressive. I'm always discouraged hearing people say NASA is wasting money and science and that's just not true IMHO.

You can achieve impressive results and still be "wasting money" if there were more cost efficient ways to achieve an equivalent result. I don't have an opinion on NASA but that could be the point of view those people are coming from.
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