tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557240086320000561.post90940481709473640..comments2024-01-15T00:07:32.472-08:00Comments on Mars and Me: Spirit Sol 36Scott Maxwellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11510688120932625522noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557240086320000561.post-28179923927782761402009-02-13T09:36:00.000-08:002009-02-13T09:36:00.000-08:00"Terminal disease". I remember using that term ba..."Terminal disease". I remember using that term back when even the most optimistic of us thought that Spirit wouldn't last the calendar year. That terminal disease sure is taking a heck of a long time to run its course!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557240086320000561.post-8268350377533010992009-02-12T10:08:00.000-08:002009-02-12T10:08:00.000-08:00I don't agree. This real life. It's a wonderful "b...I don't agree. This real life. It's a wonderful "behind the scenes" blog and the colorness of the words are part of the story (though I don't always understand it). We are grown up people and even if there were young readers, they would learn those colorful words in their schools, anyway.<BR/>Ciao,<BR/>ErmannoAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557240086320000561.post-126203190189215182009-02-10T01:27:00.000-08:002009-02-10T01:27:00.000-08:00@Anonymous I'm glad to hear you're enjoying readin...@Anonymous I'm glad to hear you're enjoying reading this, and I appreciate the politeness and positive nature of your request. However, since I wrote the material five years ago and have already decided not to edit my notes before posting them, there's little I can do to accede except to strike a different tone in newly written material (such as the footnotes and my comment replies), which I shall cheerfully do.<BR/><BR/>I will, however, caution you to just skip sol 47. Not kidding.Scott Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11510688120932625522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557240086320000561.post-73443268516255550332009-02-09T14:48:00.000-08:002009-02-09T14:48:00.000-08:00I am really enjoying your blog. I watched the moon...I am really enjoying your blog. I watched the moon landing at my grandparents on a B&W TV in the hills of eastern KY. But I would recommend you tone down the off color language a little.<BR/><BR/>Still a good blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557240086320000561.post-86235375167063125172009-02-09T10:52:00.000-08:002009-02-09T10:52:00.000-08:00@Anonymous You're absolutely right, and I apprecia...@Anonymous You're absolutely right, and I appreciate that you see this as one of those things that's a lot more obvious in hindsight. When (long before landing) we defined the file RSVP uses to capture the rover's state, we were very concerned about *physical* state -- how the rover was tilted, how the suspension was articulated, etc. We did not then think about the rover's *logical* state. For similar reasons, while there is such a red flag at the downlink stations, we just weren't used to looking for it yet. (It's a small red flag, not a big red flag, I'm afraid. In fairness, there are lots and lots and lots of telemetry channels, so they can't all be big.)<BR/><BR/>Since this experience, we have significantly improved both our software and our procedures. The Tactical Downlink Lead reports the state of the appropriate flags, and I think it's in the Mission Manager's checklist to ensure they're cleared when we walk through our sequences; they're also highlighted somewhat better in the automated portions of the downlink reports. In addition, my automated flight rule checker looks up the state of the drive-related and IDD-related flags and spits out an error if you're trying to drive or use the IDD without clearing the appropriate state.<BR/><BR/>It took time to put all this in place, and (though I'm embarrassed to admit it) we had to stumble over this and related problems a few more times before we got our act entirely together. But we learned from each mistake, got a little better each time, and now I can't imagine a problem like this slipping by us.<BR/><BR/>A good lesson for future missions!Scott Maxwellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11510688120932625522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5557240086320000561.post-42893939463431189392009-02-09T09:01:00.000-08:002009-02-09T09:01:00.000-08:00I'm vaguely surprised RSVP didn't catch the don't_...I'm vaguely surprised RSVP didn't catch the don't_drive flag (however it exists) problem. Or that there wasn't a big light at the driving stations showing that state.<BR/><BR/>That's hindsight, of course. Hopefully this is one of those anecdotes that percolates around, though, since it's a simple problem (not being fully aware of the current rover state, I suppose) with a few apparently simple solutions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com