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NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory Enters Safe Mode; Investigation Underway:
At approximately 9:55 a.m. EDT on Oct. 10, 2018, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory entered safe mode, in which the observatory is put into a safe configuration, critical hardware is swapped to back-up units, the spacecraft points so that the solar panels get maximum sunlight, and the mirrors point away from the Sun. Analysis of available data indicates the transition to safe mode was normal behavior for such an event. All systems functioned as expected and the scientific instruments are safe. The cause of the safe mode transition (possibly involving a gyroscope) is under investigation, and we will post more information when it becomes available.
Chandra is 19 years old, which is well beyond the original design lifetime of 5 years. In 2001, NASA extended its lifetime to 10 years. It is now well into its extended mission and is expected to continue carrying out forefront science for many years to come.
Has anyone heard from Opportunity lately?
But seriously, it's amazing how many probes keep running so far beyond their designed life span. Take a look, for instance, at the Mars Rovers. And then consider the two Voyager spacecraft, launched in 1977 which are still in operation!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday October 13 2018, @03:52PM (1 child)
Not sure, exactly, of your point about cars. There have been cheaper, "throwaway" cars for a lot longer than 1977. Volkswagen might be the best example. The VW was never an "investment", a "luxury", or a "status symbol" - it was a less expensive, utilitarian thing. A lot of them survived for amazingly long times, but that wasn't their purpose - they were engineered to be cheap and affordable. TBH, that was also the mission of Ford, early on - to provide people with a cheap affordable vehicle. Only later did they start changing their mission to provide status symbols and/or high quality vehicles.
So - how about my 1976 Chevy Nova? Six cylinder, three speed, no frame under the car - it was the most fuel efficient vehicle I had ever owned, up to that point in time. It came from the factory getting 16.5 to 17 mpg. After some tinkering, and adding some bits and pieces from Clifford Research and other sources, I was getting 20 mpg with it. It lasted me 280,000 miles, at which point I handed it down to a youngster who needed a vehicle. Dumbass tore it up in no time at all, but that's a different story.
It was a "throwaway", in that it was pretty inexpensive. But, it was also an inexpensive car to maintain and repair. There have been a fair number of other vehicles since that are far more "throwaway", but there have also been a number of them that were not.
Speaking of stupid status symbols - my Trailblazer is just another car to me. Technically, it's an SUV, but to me, it's just a covered pickup truck. But, *some* people at work have congratulated me on the damned thing. "Oh, that's a really nice car!" Dumb - it's just another set of wheels - a little more utilitarian than some of the vehicles I've driven. Burns a little more gas than some others. But, every vehicle is a tradeoff. I sure as hell didn't buy it as a status symbol - the price was right, and it fit my needs. People are dumb!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 13 2018, @07:20PM
And this is why while the world runs on Linux and Windows, Apple gets all the attention.
Because Jobs kept hammering the idea of Apple products being status symbols, and priced them accordingly.
And this is why in turn the "creative" people latched onto them, as most of them are in it for the status rather than the art.