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Engineering for the Long Haul, the Nasa Way
- JohnJamesRambo 8y agoI’m sorry but I can’t take this seriously when 2/5 of the shuttles were lost for a 40% failure rate.
- jniedrauer 8y agoI think you mean a 1.5% failure rate, given that there were 133 successful missions.
- starpilot 8y agoFor an infinite timeline, all cars will break down, therefore cars have a 100% failure rate.
- ramblerouser 8y agoTo be fair, it would be more like 40% of cars failing after 50,000 miles instead of 150,000
- 0xJRS 8y agoThis is some flat-earth level misinformation right here.
- JohnJamesRambo 8y agoIf 40% of the Boeing 737 Max planes went down would you call that engineering for the long haul? This has absolutely nothing to do with flat earth nonsense, your comment is the literal definition of the strawman argument.
- jonahhorowitz 8y agoIt's amazing to think that the Voyager missions have been up there and producing science as long as I've been alive. It'll be a sad day when they sign off.
- gjkood 8y agoI was coaching/mentoring my son's high school robotics team for a few years and on many occasions I used the NASA workmanship standards [1] (also mentioned/linked in the article) for learning myself and teaching the kids how to do wire management, making wire terminations, crimping etc. What a wonderful resource to have at your fingertips. I feel the standards and attention to minute details go a long way to explain the longevity of the NASA spacecraft. [1] https://workmanship.nasa.gov/lib/insp/2%20books/frameset.html https://workmanship.nasa.gov/lib/insp/2%20books/frameset.htm...
- johnohara 8y agoThis article's image of the wiring lacing reminded me of a tour I took of the B-29 Flying Fortress "FiFi." As I spoke with the pilot - in the cockpit - I noticed the wiring lacing on the metal frame and thought it might be original. It certainly looked it. Without touching anything, I commented on it, and the pilot confirmed it was original, not restoration. She was built in 1945, almost 75 yrs ago, 20+(?) years before Panduit tie-wraps were invented. All that flight bouncing and impact and little need for replacement. The workmanship was beautiful. Or should I say the "work-woman-ship," as was the case back then.
- HeyLaughingBoy 8y agoI missed out on a tour of Fifi back in the mid 90's when I was working on my private pilot license. Didn't know she was at the airport until I was getting ready for my flight and in hindsight, I should have postponed it just to get a chance to be on that beautiful piece of machinery. Somewhere I have a link to hundreds, if not thousands, of Kodachrome images of the work: machining, fabrication, and wiring done by those women back in WWII. I'm kind of a machinery geek and it's mindblowing to see the machines I've only known with decades of dirt, surface rust and patina, shown brand-new and gleaming. Check out /r/cableporn if you're into OCD-grade wire harness building :-)
- johnohara 8y agoNever thought of it as OCD. Just the right way to do it is all. Thanks for the link.
- GlenTheMachine 8y agoTo be clear, the work referenced in this article is all JPL. JPL is not exactly the same as NASA. JPL is an FFRDC administered by Caltech on behalf of NASA. This is not to say that other NASA centers aren't great; but they do all have their own cultures and processes. The article focuses on JPL's. IMHO, JPL is the greatest engineering organization in human history.
- Kephael 8y ago>> IMHO, JPL is the greatest engineering organization in human history. It's not the 1950s anymore, the smartest are drawn to FAANG and trading firms.
- mrspeaker 8y agoThanks a lot, you just made me laugh out loud in a quiet cafe! I'm sure the smartest are drawn to the big bucks of trading firms - but to think that any of those companies would ever be considered "the greatest engineering organization in human history" is a funny mental image.
- acpetrov 8y agoYep. NASA has such high standards that it's hard to imagine a private company ever matching its engineering quality, after all why would they need to?
- mathgladiator 8y agoOr afford to? The way most software is built today makes me sad.
- elviejo 8y ago<sarcasm>What aren't Electron and Javascript the pinacle of software development </sarcasm>
- 8y ago
- fastball 8y agoPlus Opportunity didn't actually die! https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7339 https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7339