I have been informed by somebody who has access that EC is doing okay.
Another day successfully supporting @EuropaClipper via DSS55! Clipper was commanded out of it’s thermal roll during this pass
Quote from: LouScheffer on 10/15/2024 07:57 pmI'm getting extremely bad vibes about this. I'm afraid the data, interpreted in the obvious way, would mean the mission is lost. This would result in instant recriminations, making it even harder, if still possible, to recover the mission. So until they've tried everything humanly possible, they are deferring the announcement.I've never hoped so hard in my life that I am wrong.Doesn't it get exhausting pretending there are conspiracies around every corner? You know, jwst can see through your roof right? Maybe THEY are watching now...
I'm getting extremely bad vibes about this. I'm afraid the data, interpreted in the obvious way, would mean the mission is lost. This would result in instant recriminations, making it even harder, if still possible, to recover the mission. So until they've tried everything humanly possible, they are deferring the announcement.I've never hoped so hard in my life that I am wrong.
My personal suspicion
My personal suspicion is that EC had some sort of near-death experience. So JPL could not tweet "Everything is OK" and did not want to tweet "We may have just flushed $5 billion down the toilet". We shall see.
Quote from: LouScheffer on 10/16/2024 04:46 pmMy personal suspicionCan you explain what that's based on?
Something here was off, and it's either the spacecraft or the PR department.
The only reason I can see for silence is that something is *not* going well, and the publicity would not be good.
In my own personal experience, it's NASA's Public Affairs Office that's off, not the spacecraft. I have
Quote from: DaveS on 10/16/2024 08:38 pmIn my own personal experience, it's NASA's Public Affairs Office that's off, not the spacecraft. I have The problem is that NASA delegates this stuff to JPL (and the mission), and in the past, JPL has been very good at providing updates. I'm rather stunned by how little they are producing now. I'm going to mention it to some of them when I see them.
At times like this, it's worth recalling that back in February, JPL announced workforce reductions of around 530 people, plus another 40 or so contractors, due to budget reductions. Perhaps among those deemed most expendable and let go were some of the staff responsible for PR and social media outreach. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-workforce-update/