Quote from: Antares on 10/18/2013 09:30 pmQuote from: Prober on 10/17/2013 09:13 pmQuote from: manboy on 10/17/2013 09:02 pmThe shutdown is over and dozens of images have been uploaded.http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/better yet the Gov can now cut Orbital a check. If it was FY13 money, the lapse in appropriations was irrelevant.But now there is someone sitting in the treasury department that can write that 5 million dollar check for the last milestone.
Quote from: Prober on 10/17/2013 09:13 pmQuote from: manboy on 10/17/2013 09:02 pmThe shutdown is over and dozens of images have been uploaded.http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/better yet the Gov can now cut Orbital a check. If it was FY13 money, the lapse in appropriations was irrelevant.
Quote from: manboy on 10/17/2013 09:02 pmThe shutdown is over and dozens of images have been uploaded.http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/better yet the Gov can now cut Orbital a check.
The shutdown is over and dozens of images have been uploaded.http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasa2explore/
Quote from: MP99 on 10/19/2013 08:50 amQuote from: Antares on 10/19/2013 03:24 amThe Treasury does not obligate money. Agencies do, and the ability to spend FY13 money was not impacted. The funding is not included in the CR since it was FY13 money. Please learn government budgeting before arguing about it.While that's understandable for Orb-D1, are you sure that's true for all Orb-1 milestones, also?I can make a few points that suggest it strongly but are not conclusive.1) I took the original "cut a check" comment in relation to D1 milestones not Orb-1.2) Station Program management took the position that supply vehicles were part of protection life and property and did not fully furlough staff in that area.3) D1 and Orb-1 milestones have been delayed from earlier in the year and did not require New Obligation Authority.Budget and procurement are actually somewhat fascinating for technical folks because the rules are ignored or skirted so often. Knowing them, and how they are interpreted, helps anticipate what the government might do or what the bean counters inside the government might try to do to the people wanting to do the work (both gov and contractor).
Quote from: Antares on 10/19/2013 03:24 amThe Treasury does not obligate money. Agencies do, and the ability to spend FY13 money was not impacted. The funding is not included in the CR since it was FY13 money. Please learn government budgeting before arguing about it.While that's understandable for Orb-D1, are you sure that's true for all Orb-1 milestones, also?
The Treasury does not obligate money. Agencies do, and the ability to spend FY13 money was not impacted. The funding is not included in the CR since it was FY13 money. Please learn government budgeting before arguing about it.
The recent article ( http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2013/10/cygnus-departs-destructive-farewell/ ) has a picture of a LEGO model of Cygnus on CAPCOM's stand. Someone on L2 (jokingly?) said they wanted it. I posted the info there but decided here is better, it's all public info.Here's info: http://rebrickable.com/sets/StephenPakbaz/cygnusYou can build it yourself, if you have the pieces, the instructions are there. You'll need LDD [1] to read the instruction file. (as a note, I've seen a copy of this model in person at last year's Brickfair if I'm not misremembering)Stephen Pakbaz has some prior space cred, having done Mars rovers (which got 10,000 votes on LEGO CUUSOO) and some other neat stuff. Real nice guy. Here is a shot of the model interior showing what a clever build it is... 12 sided things are non trivial to do with LEGO elements. http://www.flickr.com/photos/65402716@N07/7539524714/Edit: If you want the parts without rooting in your collection for them, this site has copies for sale: http://www.brixalot.com/pages/for_sale.htm#Cygnus_I 180 USD.I can't vouch for it myself but expect it would work out fine. The site also has an Orbital logo (as a mosaic) and a small sat among its models for sale.1 - freely available from LEGO at http://ldd.lego.com/en-us/download/
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=29378.0;attach=537826[/url]Been holding off on printing one for the office as Manboy likes to do upgrades. Hope he adds just a little more detail then Im off and printing.
Watching the mission highlights video, I'm reminded of something that intrigued me: the Antares (as well as Cygnus apparently) onboard video. It looks digital based on occasional artifacts (wavelety-looking), but the image quality appears to degrade more gracefully than for example SpaceX's recent onboard video where you either have signal or have a complete dropout.If it really is digital, I was wondering if Orbital is employing some custom codec? Doesn't look MPEG-like to me.EDIT: seems like a similar system was flown on the Ariane 5 with ATV-4: www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-32EgwhJ8w
I think the Spacex complete dropout buffering graphic was on purpose for whatever reason, I'd have preferred to see the raw feed with breakup, may have saw more video.
Quote from: Mapperuo on 10/25/2013 09:42 amI think the Spacex complete dropout buffering graphic was on purpose for whatever reason, I'd have preferred to see the raw feed with breakup, may have saw more video.I'm not even talking about the complete breakup, I'm talking about how the picture completely falls apart when transmission glitches are present, see the MVac ignition moment. Orbital's feed seems to behave more "analog-like" with increasing amounts of noise when transmission has errors. You could say it's best of both worlds - the analog "resiliency" and digital image quality.
Ecliptic's integrated RocketCam™ systems help you understand and appreciate what your remote, complex system is doing and experiencing in extreme environments.You don't need a high-end, expensive, science-quality imaging system. RocketCam™ systems provide engineering and PR-quality situational awareness within a small, rugged, cost-effective package, and are available in analog (Analog Video Systems, AVS), digital (Digital Video System, DVS), and hybrid analog-digital configurations (Integrated Video Assembly, IVA).
You may be on to something, it looks like Orbital are using RocketCam, which does offer something like you're describing. I'm guessing SpaceX uses an in-house system that's all digital.
Quote from: arachnitect on 10/25/2013 02:01 pmYou may be on to something, it looks like Orbital are using RocketCam, which does offer something like you're describing. I'm guessing SpaceX uses an in-house system that's all digital.According to their "platforms" page, both Taurus II (looks like they haven't updated in a while) and Cygnus use RocketCam.http://eclipticenterprises.com/platformsAnd given SpaceX's goal of maximizing vertical integration, using an in-house developed system makes sense for them.
Quote from: Mapperuo on 10/25/2013 09:42 amI think the Spacex complete dropout buffering graphic was on purpose for whatever reason, I'd have preferred to see the raw feed with breakup, may have saw more video.There was no feed during those periods. The receiving dish at VAFB got knocked out of alignment by the launch.
You have to be suuuper cool before you're cooler than a lower-fidelity Lego version.