Spacecraft Crashes Into Satellite

Juha-Matti Laurio writes "A robotic NASA spacecraft designed to rendezvous with an orbiting satellite instead crashed into its target. Unbeknownst to engineers at the time, DART's main sensor mistakenly believed it was flying away from the satellite when it was actually moving 5 feet per second toward it, investigators found."

Ah.

[toQDuj]

So that's where the minus sign should have gone, I knew I dropped it somewhere!

and an Obligatory Pratchett Quote:

Hex's pen was scratching across the paper.
Ponder glanced at the figures.
` ..., these figures can't be right!`
Ridcully grinned again. `You mean either the whole world has gone wrong or your machine is wrong?`
`Yes!`
`Then I'd imagine the answer is pretty easy, wouldn't you?` said Ridcully.
`Yes, it certainly is. Hex gets thoroughly tested every day` said Ponder Stibbons
`Good point, that man,` Said Ridcully.

B.

Question answered!

[LackThereof]

The $110 million DART mission was meant to test whether robots can perform some of the tasks astronauts currently must do.

Well, we answered that question. Mission accomplished!

That's no crash...

[calexontheroad66]

it's a successfull hit, now let's build that missile defense system.

DART

[Shifty Jim]

Well... Maybe they shouldn't have painted a giant bullseye on the side of the satellite.

DART: 50 points
NASA: -110 million dollars

Let me be the first to say....

[haeger]

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

No, but seriously, this is sad. It takes us farther away from what I'd like to see in a car, namely a self-steering one. I'd prefer one that detects an oncoming truck as oncoming and tries to get out of the way.

.haeger

Anti-Sat Weapon Test?

[Anonymous Coward]

Is this a Anti-Sat Weapon Test?

~AC

First application

[RM6f9]

Not hampered by engineering degree, can tell difference between "toward" and "away from" - will work for same 6 figure salary previous position holder was receiving...

Google's plan to kill Dilbert

[Anonymous Coward]

It is actually Google's plan to kill Dilbert [dilbert.com].

Kennedy Space Center DART?

[dotslashdot]

In a subsequent news conference, DART claimed it did not remember hitting on the target after being spaced out on AMBIEN, a method it used to help it sleep(500s) before its launch from Kennedy Space Center. DART claimed that it got several bytes to eat before drinking a cup of Java and collecting its garbage. Upon introspection DART agreed that, despite its name, hitting on the target showed little Class despite the size of its Package.

In a related story...

[dummyname12]

...NASA has finally set aside a portion of its budget for the hiring of a trombone player to lighten the mood after each disasterous miscalculation with a well-timed "waaah WAAAAAAAAH."

Where's that ruler?

[Whiteox]

Are you sure? Is that 5 feet per second or 5 metres per second?

mistaken beliefs of velocity

[MisterLawyer]

"...mistakenly believed it was flying away from the satellite when it was actually moving 5 feet per second toward it, investigators found."

Same thing happened to me and the garage door when I was 14 years old backing my dad's Buick out of the driveway.

He didn't let me drive it again until I was 18.

Re:Disband NASA

[AxminsterLeuven]

NASA is a dinosaur and should either be put down or evolve by embrace privately funded initiatives.

Or maybe they should just upgrade to the latest version of Microsoft Office.

Re:Let me be the first to say....

[Anonymous Coward]

what I'd like to see in a car, namely a self-steering one

They're called Taxis. Seriously, i'll be here all week.

Should have found a way to use LAWN DART

[xlation]

Low-budget
Assembly
Without
Navigaion...

Why did the spacecraft crash into the satellite?

[Anonymous Coward]

a) It had a crush
b) It shouted "stop", but sound doesnt travel in space
c) ...?

Re:They don't call it...

[indifferent children]

The satellite was actually shot by a CIA agent standing on a grassy knoll.

Re:Oddly familiar

[hplasm]

Mod +1 Extreme Optimism

In a recent statement...

[Anonymous Coward]

NASA mission control say they now regret ordering the craft to extend its robotic arms over its sensors and turn in complete circles 3 times.

Re:Let me be the first to say....

[IDontAgreeWithYou]

i hate airbags if you couldnt tell

Further proving my theory that there is nothing in the world that somebody on Slashdot won't be against.

Re:Question answered!

[m0nstr42]

The $110 million DART mission was meant to test whether robots can perform some of the tasks astronauts currently must do.

Well, we answered that question. Mission accomplished!

Yes, we really HIT THE MARK with that one.

This will please Scott Adams

[mustafap]

Pity the story didn't come out yesterday:

http://www.dilbert.com/comics/dilbert/archive/dilb ert-20060517.html [dilbert.com]

Re:Oddly familiar

[Verteiron]

If anyone had bothered to tell -me- that I might have passed calculus.

Obvious answer

[cgenman]

They must have been using metric feet per second.

Re:Ah.

[radtea]

Every experiment which ends in a big bang is a good experiment

Especially when it's an experiment that begins with the hypothesis, "That hot person of the complimentary sexual orientation over there will go out with me if I ask them."

dart?

[MrWa]

I am suprised at the lack of conspiracy theory comments regarding a "robotic spacecraft" that looks and acts like a missle that "accidently" destroys a defunct satellite.

It is almost too obvious of a conclusion, which may make this the most ingenious way to hide a live fire test...

Re:Oddly familiar

[radtea]

Just tell then it's the area under a curve, or the volume under a sheet. Even the most pretentious manager will be able to grasp that

"It's the area under a curve, or the volume under a sheet."

"So that's like where they've banked the road to keep cars from flying off as they go 'round the curve? That's what an integral is?"

"Not that kind of curve!"

"And the volume under a sheet--isn't that zero? Unless somebody's lying under it. Or two somebody's. Lemme tell you about this girl I met..."

Re:Why did the spacecraft crash into the satellite

[Intron]

c) It was older and had better insurance.

Re:Obvious answer

[Anonymous Coward]

True story:

A friend's girlfriend picked up a small ruler to measure some miscellaneous item. Like most rulers, it had "inches" on one edge and "metric" on the other. Unfortunately, she was measuring starting at 1 instead of at the end of the ruler, and when the result came out different from what she expected, she looked carefully at the ruler. After a moment, she said, "Ohhh, this ruler is in metric inches!"

It's stories like these that remind my friend how he'll never get those two years back.

Re:Ah.

[operagost]

I'll see you and raise you an Office Space:

[Scene An ATM machine. Peter gets out a receipt that says he has
$305,326.13]

  [Scene Peter's car. Samir and Michael have obviously seen the
receipt.]

SAMIR
Shit, shit, shit, shit. Son of a bitch! Shit! This is a - fuck! Son of
a bitch! Shit!

MICHAEL
What happened?

PETER
You tell me, Michael, it's your software!

SAMIR
Yes, it's your software!

PETER
Corporate accounting is sure as hell going to notice 305, 3 (grabs the
receipt) 26.13!! Michael!!

MICHAEL
Oh shit! They, they probably won't notice it's gone for another two or
three days.

PETER
Michael! Michael! You said the thing was gonna take two years!

SAMIR
What happened?!

PETER
You said the thing was supposed to work.

MICHAEL
Well, technically it did work.

PETER
No it didn't!

SAMIR
It did not work, Michael, ok?!

MICHAEL
Ok! Ok!

SAMIR
Ok?!

MICHAEL
Ok! Ok! I must have, I must have put a decimal point in the wrong place
or something. Shit. I always do that. I always mess up some mundane
detail.

PETER
Oh! What is this fairly mundane detail, Michael?!!!!!

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