DSN in trouble

Palomar · 2006-08-03 07:06:10

http://www.space.com/news/060802_dsn_problems.html

NASA project managers are meeting daily to figure out how to avoid losing mission data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and the Cassini spacecraft as a result of a longer than planned shutdown of one of the three antennas that comprise Deep Space Network

The problem is that two giant bearings that allow the DSN's antenna in Madrid, Spain to rotate have failed, forcing NASA to take it offline for three months longer than originally planned.

"The crux of the matter is Mars and Saturn are in the same plane of the sky," Rodrigues said.

"DSN faces a deteriorating infrastructure and a limited capacity to serve additional missions. System infrastructure, which has been marked by extensive deferred maintenance, is aging and is likely to become increasingly fragile and subject to breakdown at a time when demand is anticipated to increase. The potential exists for the loss of scientific data that would be difficult, if not impossible, to replace."

--Cindy

Yang Liwei Rocket · 2006-08-04 15:03:32

sad news, i hope they can fix this

SpaceNut · 2006-08-04 21:18:58

This is what happens when you keep cutting the funding for anything that is not human based... it will have long lasting effects on so many probes if not fxed before communications with them is a must.
I am sure the manufacturer of the bearings has long since gone out of business much like the crawlers and other parts of the shuttles just like a few years ago.

SpaceNut · 2006-11-15 21:53:49

Observations of double asteroid stress Arecibo radar's vital role in identifying threats in Earth's vicinity

The researchers used antennas at Arecibo and NASA's Goldstone Deep Space Network -- the only telescopes with the radar capability for such observations.

SpaceNut · 2006-12-06 08:08:43

Future dimming for Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico's giant telescope as budget cuts loom

At the world's largest radio telescope, astronomers searching for asteroids on a collision course with Earth are bracing for a more worldly threat: The steepest budget cuts and first layoffs since the observatory opened in 1963.
Managers are warning staff and outside astronomers to prepare for a leaner future, with fewer research projects and less telescope time available as they finish a costly repainting job amid a looming cut in U.S. government funding.
Arecibo is already scrimping to repaint the telescope, a $5 million project that officials say must be done now to prevent the steel from corroding in the humid air of northwestern Puerto Rico.
The facility, which was built by the U.S. Air Force, will borrow the money and pay it back over the next three years by cutting 25 percent from its astronomy budget, Brown said.
Twenty to 30 positions will be lost, including some science and support staff, as well as about a quarter of the approximately 100 astronomy research projects done annually at the center. The telescope's annual operating time will be reduced by 1,000 hours, he said.

Palomar · 2006-12-06 15:11:53

SpaceNutNewMars,Dec 6 2006, 02:12 PM wrote:

Future dimming for Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico's giant telescope as budget cuts loom
At the world's largest radio telescope, astronomers searching for asteroids on a collision course with Earth are bracing for a more worldly threat: The steepest budget cuts and first layoffs since the observatory opened in 1963.
Managers are warning staff and outside astronomers to prepare for a leaner future, with fewer research projects and less telescope time available as they finish a costly repainting job amid a looming cut in U.S. government funding.
Arecibo is already scrimping to repaint the telescope, a $5 million project that officials say must be done now to prevent the steel from corroding in the humid air of northwestern Puerto Rico.
The facility, which was built by the U.S. Air Force, will borrow the money and pay it back over the next three years by cutting 25 percent from its astronomy budget, Brown said.
Twenty to 30 positions will be lost, including some science and support staff, as well as about a quarter of the approximately 100 astronomy research projects done annually at the center. The telescope's annual operating time will be reduced by 1,000 hours, he said.

Yep, just now read that elsewhere (didn't see your post until now).

However -- the good news is the U.S. funding Arecibo loses (likely entirely by this decade's end) will go to fund the international radio telescope being built in the Atacama Desert of Chile, which is slated to begin operations in 2011. That RT will be the largest yet.

Arecibo is 43 years old.

A pity we can't finance both. Well, we could -- except Pres. Bush hasn't been so great with our money. :-\ The funding can only go 1 place though, and I'd rather it go to the new radio 'scope.

It's all they can do to muster up the funds to repaint Arecibo (prevention of steel corrosion in the high humidity).

Mars_B4_Moon · 2022-02-28 17:01:07

NASA's Greg Harrigan taking over.

https://twitter.com/genejm29/status/1494026288822210561

The telescope was damaged by Hurricane Maria in 2017 and was affected by earthquakes in 2019 and 2020. Two cable breaks, one in August 2020 and a second in November 2020, threatened the structural integrity of the support structure for the suspended platform and damaged the dish. Due to uncertainty over the remaining strength of the other cables supporting the suspended structure, and the risk of collapse owing to further failures making repairs dangerous, the NSF announced on November 19, 2020, that the telescope would be decommissioned and dismantled, with the radio telescope and LIDAR facility remaining operational.
https://en.wikipedia.org/
Before it could be decommissioned, several of the remaining support cables suffered a critical failure and the support structure, antenna, and dome assembly all fell into the dish at 7:55 a.m. local time on December 1, 2020, destroying the telescope.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2022-02-28 17:03:22)

Mars_B4_Moon · 2024-01-04 15:54:54

China’s FAST Observatory is Playing a Key Role in the Search for Aliens

https://www.universetoday.com/165058/ch … or-aliens/

Some years ago I remember running the SETI at Home screensaver and would watch it for hours to see if any peaks appeared naively thinking they might be signals from an alien civilization! There is no doubt that the search for extraterrestrials (ET) has captivated the minds of many people across the years. The search has of course to date, been unsuccessful despite multiple observations that seem to suggest the conditions for life across the cosmos may actually be more common than we first thought. Now Chinese agencies are funding projects to use the Five Hundred Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) to conduct searches for alien signals.

New Mars Forums

Announcement

#1 2006-08-03 07:06:10

Re: DSN in trouble

#2 2006-08-04 15:03:32

Re: DSN in trouble

#3 2006-08-04 21:18:58

Re: DSN in trouble

#4 2006-11-15 21:53:49

Re: DSN in trouble

#5 2006-12-06 08:08:43

Re: DSN in trouble

#6 2006-12-06 15:11:53

Re: DSN in trouble

#7 2022-02-28 17:01:07

Re: DSN in trouble

#8 2024-01-04 15:54:54

Re: DSN in trouble

Board footer