What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

Space exploration: Where do we go from here?

dxmnkd316 said:
I thought the game was based on alternate history???
Click to expand...

There are alt history mods like Kaiserreich (Germany wins WW1, Kaiser rules, no Nazis, makes playing the Germans way better). But the base game is pure realism.

Or you made a joke and whoosh.
 
The part that had the MOST single point failures has passed!!! Both sides have the sun screen booms extended. Now they just need tightened.

That's a HUGE step.

And not without a lot of stress, as it appears that some of the sensors were not seeing the shield cover getting rolled up. But all of the actuators released and it's out.
 
Last edited:
MichVandal said:
The part that had the MOST single point failures has passed!!! Both sides have the sun screen booms extended. Now they just need tightened.

That's a HUGE step.

And not without a lot of stress, as it appears that some of the sensors were not seeing the shield cover getting rolled up. But all of the actuators released and it's out.
Click to expand...

So how many of the 343 or whatever have they passed?
 
Tomorrow is going to be tense. Literally, not figuratively- they are going to tension the sun shield after the team gets some rest.
 
MichVandal said:
Tomorrow is going to be tense. Literally, not figuratively- they are going to tension the sun shield after the team gets some rest.
Click to expand...

This next step is being delayed a day, so that the team can better analyze Webb while it's travelling in space. Hope this is good news, since the rest of the deployment does not really need a fixed schedule.

BTW, the fuel savings looks to have doubled the active time at L2.
 
Also, I was curious and literally laughed out loud when this came up before I even had a chance to finish

FIIGTkPXwAE37dQ



edit: ok, the answer is no and hilariously no because I didn't realize that KSP simplified the universe so much. I mean, OBVIOUSLY it's simplified, but down to where you are only ever acted upon by one other body.

BUT, you can change that with a mod that does the full n-body calcs. Which makes the game virtually unplayable without additional mods and a ton of patience and well, astrophysics knowledge.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eU-kLLeE7n0
 
Last edited:
Tensioning of the sun shield has started. Sounds like it will take a few days. But the "schedule" to start deploying the mirrors does not start until the 12th day- so they have time since we are only 9 days in.
 
From the team blog:

The Webb mission operations team began the first steps in the process of tensioning the first layer of Webb’s sunshield this morning around 10 a.m. EST.

It will take the team two to three days to tension the five-layer sunshield. The plan for today is to focus on the first layer, the largest and the one closest to the Sun.

This critical step in the observatory’s complex sequence of deployments resumed after Webb mission managers paused deployment operations on Saturday to allow for team rest, and then again on Sunday to make adjustments to Webb’s power subsystem and to alter the observatory’s attitude to lower the temperature of the motors that drive the tensioning process.
Click to expand...
 
Things appear to be going quite well- the first three sun shields are fully tensioned. This is the most complex part of the deployment, as I see it (although aiming the mirrors looks to be quite a complex thing, too)- as it has the most moving parts. But 3 out of 5 so far, and the results of that are really apparent- you can see a big drop in the cool side temp of the telescope- both temp locations are well below -100C, with one really close to -200C.

They are getting to the point that future failures would not doom the entire project, as they can deal with a reduced mirror as long as it's cold enough.

Just have to get that secondary mirror in place.
 
If you have a lot of free time today- NASA is streaming the tensioning of the last two shield layers. Since there are no cameras, it's just listening to the status.
 
MichVandal said:
If you have a lot of free time today- NASA is streaming the tensioning of the last two shield layers. Since there are no cameras, it's just listening to the status.
Click to expand...

Just went to check in on the live feed to note that stopped streaming not to long ago. And watching the end of the feed- lots and lots of happy scientists- all 5 shields are fully deployed right now!!!! HUGE step.

Next is to position the secondary mirror- which is pretty simple in comparison to the shields.

And then the full deployment of the mirror and aiming of each mirror segment.

Pretty amazing this is going so well. I wonder if the people who posted blogs or vlogs saying this was going to fail are writing their crow eating replies. It's not done, but the most complex part is passed.
 
I keep posting random stuff- now that the sunshield is deployed, they posted the temp targets and probabilities-

The cold side will be ~ 36k. Or -237C. Or -350F. Remarkably, some of the cold side is already close to that at almost -200C.

The hot side will be ~383k, or +110C or 230F. Sort of close now, at it being almost 60C at one spot.

I didn't really expect the difference between the hot and cold sides to be that much- that's remarkable.
 
MichVandal said:
I keep posting random stuff- now that the sunshield is deployed, they posted the temp targets and probabilities-

The cold side will be ~ 36k. Or -237C. Or -350F. Remarkably, some of the cold side is already close to that at almost -200C.

The hot side will be ~383k, or +110C or 230F. Sort of close now, at it being almost 60C at one spot.

I didn't really expect the difference between the hot and cold sides to be that much- that's remarkable.
Click to expand...

That was the main reason the Apollo space craft performed a "barbecue roll" where they rotated along their flight path to the moon and back.

Also one of the main reasons the shuttle often flew "upside down" in orbit, exposing the thermal tile side to the sun.
 
Webb is now actually in a position to be useful! Secondary mirror is fully deployed. Even with the primary mirror wings not being deployed, the system can be used at a reduced light load, and still be considerably bigger than previous space telescopes.

“The world’s most sophisticated tripod has deployed,” said Lee Feinberg, optical telescope element manager for Webb at Goddard. “That’s really the way one can think of it. Webb’s secondary mirror had to deploy in microgravity, and in extremely cold temperatures, and it ultimately had to work the first time without error. It also had to deploy, position, and lock itself into place to a tolerance of about one and a half millimeters, and then it has to stay extremely stable while the telescope points to different places in the sky – and that’s all for a secondary mirror support structure that is over 7 meters in length.”
Click to expand...

Next Webb will deploy an important radiator system known as the aft deployable infrared radiator (ADIR), which helps shed heat away from its instruments and mirrors.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top