“This kind of thing happens and that’s why we build redundancy into our missions."
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Engineers probe pressure drop in Psyche spacecraft’s propulsion system
- Thread starter JournalBot
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This is the mission that I am most excited for. I swear to god if something goes wrong...
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Just when you thought the unconstitutional budget cuts to the sciences couldn't get worse, they cut the probe fuel budget.
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Bill Swallow
Ars Centurion
Three Quarter Pounders. It is an American probe, after all.The weight of three quarters of what?
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Hi Steven,
I like your many interesting articles and thank you.
Maybe next time, would it be possible to include an illustration of where that "speed bump" occurred, as well as the complete projected path.
Many Thanks.
Baca
I like your many interesting articles and thank you.
Maybe next time, would it be possible to include an illustration of where that "speed bump" occurred, as well as the complete projected path.
Many Thanks.
Baca
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You can use the NASA Eyes app to see where Psyche is now, and also scroll through her past and future positions.
https://eyes.nasa.gov/apps/solar-system/#/sc_psyche
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As a Brit, when I read "equivalent to the weight of three quarters." I was thinking 3/4 of what? It eventually dawned on me 
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It's a quarter of a newton, which is the force of gravity on a standard Lincolnshire apple at the time of the Great Plague. Isaac ate the other three quarters.The weight of three quarters of what?
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password123
Ars Scholae Palatinae
So how does switching to the backup fuel line work? Perhaps involving valves, the most dependable rocket part ever?
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If you can get ESA and Arianespace to start using units of Royale with Cheese, the Rocket Report comments section will go absolutely nuts.
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Other than some questionable web UX choices, that is super cool. I did the scroll through all the asteroid/comet missions, I forgot the stardust mission was way back 12 years ago for sample return. Surprised little output in the press about the findings (unless it was truly boring - e.g. "we found regular ol' dust"). The rendezvous for this probe with Psyche seems a front chase where I guess they will let the asteroid come up from behind over an extended period. I assume those thrusters provide similarly tiny braking force, hence the very long approach path?
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i thought the pressure should be in freedoms per squared eagle ? So 3 quarters of an eagle ?The weight of three quarters of what?
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THIS is a neat website and Ars might mention it or link to it - if you do even a minimum of exploration you can see there was a very recent asterior flyby ("donaldjohanson") and they're busy downloading that missions data. Also, looks like Psyche is currently outside of Mars orbit, doing some neat orbital mechanics. I hope they can get past their fuel line issue!
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Particularly since the craft is carrying 0.000248 Olympic-sized swimming pools of Xenon in its seven tanks!
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"This kind of thing happens, and that’s why we build redundancy into our missions," Prockter said at a meeting of Mars scientists Wednesday. "We don't have any concerns at the moment about it, but we’re obviously keeping tabs on it.”
Obviously they have concerns.
Obviously they have concerns.
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If mankind had been meant to use the Metric system we would have been given ten fingers.
Oh, wait ...
Oh, wait ...
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Nora Lenderbee
Ars Tribunus Militum
(Headline from The Jerusalem Post 3/7/2023)
Asteroid the size of 112 camels to pass Earth Wednesday - NASA
Asteroid 2023 DQ could be as wide as 270 meters, which is the combined height of over 112 Dromedary camels. NASA says it will pass Earth on Shushan Purim.
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TIL Dromedary camels can be taller than NBA basketball players.
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Personally, in honour of the recent anniversary of one of the most important movies of all time, I think the thrust of the engines should have been reported in the specific impulse of an unladen swallow...
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Nora Lenderbee
Ars Tribunus Militum
And is it a once-and-done procedure or can it be undone? Well, they are the experts, so I'll just keep an eye on the news while they ponder and analyze. It's amazing to me how small the fuel flow is, and how clean must all the parts be. Just one tiny flake of detritus in the fuel system could make a mess of things. I'll assume there are tiny orifices and filters involved.
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A quarter having a mass of 3.89×10-4 slugs, they obviously meant 3.75×10-5 kips-force.The weight of three quarters of what?
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