ranchgirl 0 #1 September 12, 2004 Does anyone know anymore information abou this incident/news story. Apparently this space probe was supposed to have a parachute deploy before it landed and helecopters were supposed to catch it on hanging hooks and bring it down. Apparently, according to the new stories the "parachute didn't open" but I'm just wondering what maybe REALLY happened, a little more detail about the malfunction? And what manufacturer made the canopy and what kind of "device" they were using to deploy it. If you know if any better articles, can you post them? http://www.nypost.com/seven/09092004/news/worldnews/19305.htm "The 450-pound capsule's parachute failed to open and the pilots, without anything to hook, watched helplessly as it spun over and over, plowing into the desert."-Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #2 September 12, 2004 It's not that new of a story any more, but I read that the chute was fine, but that the computer didn't send the signal to deploy it. The rumor I heard was that there was a subroutine in the program to not deploy the chute while the craft was tumbling. As every skydiver knows, sooner or later, ya gotta pull, whether you're tumbling or not. Anybody else hear anything. BTW, it hit in the desert, not the dessert. You really had me worried there for a minute. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jib 0 #3 September 12, 2004 http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1236749#1236749 -------------------------------------------------- the depth of his depravity sickens me. -- Jerry Falwell, People v. Larry Flynt Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ranchgirl 0 #4 September 12, 2004 I just found that the New York Times has better, more in depth articles. You have to log in though (free) and do a search for "Space Probe" (Sorry if this should be in incidents, if so, please move...thanks). In one article it mentioned that the malfuntion might have been just that the AAD like aparatus just didn't activate: "The space agency and an investigating board will now try to figure out exactly what went wrong. None of the pyrotechnic charges that were supposed to deploy the parachutes fired, possibly because of a battery or electronics failure or some other underlying problem. It will be important to determine whether this accident was caused by something that happened in the harsh environment of space or instead reflects a design flaw or other human error that will need to be fixed before future missions." http://www.nytimes.com (Below are the articles I found) Space Probe Fails to Deploy Its Parachute and Crashes By KENNETH CHANG (NYT) News OPINION | September 9, 2004 Crash of a Robotic Space Probe (NYT) Editorial SCIENCE | September 8, 2004 Hollywood to Help NASA Catch Space Probe By KENNETH CHANG (NYT) News SCIENCE | September 7, 2004 Helicopter Pilots Will Try to Snag Space Probe-Crystal Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
