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End of an era: Landsat 7 mission takes final images

usgs.gov

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Re: End of an era: Landsat 7 mission takes final images

#51

Post by aziaziazi »

duskwuff wrote: post #17
Yawrehto wrote: post #5

It seems like a lot of these government-owned space things last a lot longer than they're made for. There's Landsat, Spirit, Opportunity, Hubble, the Voyagers, et cetera. It seems to be a pretty steep curve - either they fail on launch or landing or very early, or they far outlast expectations. There seems to be little that meets expectations. I can see lots of failures - space stuff is hard - but why so many things…

> I can see lots of failures - space stuff is hard - but why so many things exceeding it? The design lifetime is treated as a minimum acceptable value; a vehicle which was designed to last 10 years but has a critical component fail at 9.5 would be considered a failure, for instance. This means that the average lifespan of the vehicle gets pushed out a lot further to ensure it meets its goals. With that being said, it…

I wonder if the length of all space stuff average out to their acceptable value now ! (fail at launch, rapid unscheduled disassembly and the others going further until exceeding minimum acceptable value)

Re: End of an era: Landsat 7 mission takes final images

#52

Post by basementcat »

andrewinardeer wrote: post #41
mmooss wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you volunteering to pay more taxes?

I would if I could choose which program the money was directed at.

You can do so via several methods.

* Voting - You can select candidates for public service who will author or approve legislation that directs your taxes to projects you support.

* Lobbying - You can try to convince public servants and other public officials to enact legislation and/or regulations that directs your taxes to projects you support.

* Campaigning - You can try to convince other voters to vote for candidates for public service who will author or approve legislation that directs your taxes to projects you support.

* Lawsuit - You can try to convince one or more federal judges to interpret existing laws in such a way that your taxes are directed to projects you support.

* Run for office - You can place yourself on the ballot and promise your constituents to vote for legislation that directs your taxes to projects you support.

Re: End of an era: Landsat 7 mission takes final images

#53

Post by mmooss »

andrewinardeer wrote: post #41
mmooss wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you volunteering to pay more taxes?

I would if I could choose which program the money was directed at.

I think you should, and o should I. Now how do we work out which programs get funded? And what about the other people on HN? In the country?

I think you should get a vote, and have every chance to persuade them to vote your way. (I also think you should listen to others' ideas, just in case!)

Re: End of an era: Landsat 7 mission takes final images

#55

Post by bmsan »

MostlyStable wrote: post #34
is_true wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What did you do with the pvc pipe?

if I had to guess, they were going to randomly selected locations, looking at the sky through the PVC pipe (presumably straight up), and seeing if it was obstructed by tree canopy or not, and then comparing to whether or not the satellite said there was tree cover in that location

Exactly this. Specifically, how much error rates increased as you moved towards the treeline. The "am I looking straight up?" check was a washer hanging from the pipe by a piece of string.
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