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Same feelings here! Ever since it was announced I have been anxious about it all going to plan. Sometimes I put myself in the shoes of the engineers and contr

Same feelings here! Ever since it was announced I have been anxious about it all going to plan. Sometimes I put myself in the shoes of the engineers and controllers, and I can’t imagine how nerve wracking it must be, waiting and waiting! The thing could simply blow up on the launch pad, for goodness sake!

holler 5y ago
> The thing could simply blow up on the launch pad, for goodness sake! exactly, I’ve wondered why they don’t build e.g. 2 or 3 of them in tandem since it’d likely be cheaper/easier to do up front vs after the fact if things went wrong. They would then have the additional telescopes if things went right, offering even greater access.
- OrvalWintermute 5y ago
  You're correct - building constellations is definitely much cheaper. For an observational/capability platform such as for DoD or NOAA, making a large number in a series makes sense. For a research platform (NASA/NSF) that same idea doesn't apply, since science objectives dominate the discussion.
- AnimalMuppet 5y ago
  With Mars landers, they do build two of them. When they have an issue with the one on Mars, they break out the one here on Earth and start debugging. When they have a solution that works, then they know what to do with the one on Mars. I don't know if that would work on telescopes, though - I suspect that the copy wouldn't have the full optics installed.
- jasonwatkinspdx 5y ago
  See my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27767223 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27767223 The timelines on this kind of project are so long spares don't make sense vs trying again with a new and updated design.
piquadrat 5y ago
Arianespace fat-fingering an Ariane 5 into the wrong orbit recently didn't exactly help with my anxiety... https://spacenews.com/bad-coordinates-led-ariane-5-astray-last-month/ https://spacenews.com/bad-coordinates-led-ariane-5-astray-la... (OTOH, I'm positive that particular issue won't reoccur)

holler 5y ago

> The thing could simply blow up on the launch pad, for goodness sake! exactly, I’ve wondered why they don’t build e.g. 2 or 3 of them in tandem since it’d likely be cheaper/easier to do up front vs after the fact if things went wrong. They would then have the additional telescopes if things went right, offering even greater access.

OrvalWintermute 5y ago
You're correct - building constellations is definitely much cheaper. For an observational/capability platform such as for DoD or NOAA, making a large number in a series makes sense. For a research platform (NASA/NSF) that same idea doesn't apply, since science objectives dominate the discussion.
AnimalMuppet 5y ago
With Mars landers, they do build two of them. When they have an issue with the one on Mars, they break out the one here on Earth and start debugging. When they have a solution that works, then they know what to do with the one on Mars. I don't know if that would work on telescopes, though - I suspect that the copy wouldn't have the full optics installed.
jasonwatkinspdx 5y ago
See my other comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27767223 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27767223 The timelines on this kind of project are so long spares don't make sense vs trying again with a new and updated design.

piquadrat 5y ago

Arianespace fat-fingering an Ariane 5 into the wrong orbit recently didn't exactly help with my anxiety... https://spacenews.com/bad-coordinates-led-ariane-5-astray-last-month/ https://spacenews.com/bad-coordinates-led-ariane-5-astray-la... (OTOH, I'm positive that particular issue won't reoccur)