Switch problem linked to Genesis crash
Posted: Fri, Oct 15, 2004, 2:07 PM ET (1807 GMT)
A switch that was not properly oriented may have caused the crash of Genesis sample return capsule last month, investigators said Thursday. In a statement officials said that a "gravity switch" device, designed to trigger the deployment of a drogue chute once the capsule's deceleration dropped below a certain level, was installed upside-down and thus never operated properly. Investigators said the switch was installed according to design, but that the design itself had the switch in the wrong orientation. Investigators said the switch problem was the "proximate" cause of the September 8 failure, but that work would continue to understand what factors contributed to the design flaw, and if other aspects of the spacecraft design prevented the parachutes from deploying. The failure caused the capsule to hit the desert floor in Utah at over 300 km/h, severely damaging the spacecraft. Work continues to salvage some of the solar wind samples the capsule carried.
A switch that was not properly oriented may have caused the crash of Genesis sample return capsule last month, investigators said Thursday. In a statement officials said that a "gravity switch" device, designed to trigger the deployment of a drogue chute once the capsule's deceleration dropped below a certain level, was installed upside-down and thus never operated properly. Investigators said the switch was installed according to design, but that the design itself had the switch in the wrong orientation. Investigators said the switch problem was the "proximate" cause of the September 8 failure, but that work would continue to understand what factors contributed to the design flaw, and if other aspects of the spacecraft design prevented the parachutes from deploying. The failure caused the capsule to hit the desert floor in Utah at over 300 km/h, severely damaging the spacecraft. Work continues to salvage some of the solar wind samples the capsule carried.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Monday, March 9
IDF strikes IRGC aerospace headquarters linked to satellite, missile program
Jerusalem Post — 6:10 am ET (1010 GMT) Blue Origin plans indicate new 800,000-square-foot Merritt Island facility
Florida Today — 6:08 am ET (1008 GMT) Chinese scientists map chemical composition of the Moon’s far side using AI model
Global Times — 6:06 am ET (1006 GMT) Commercial space stations the next big thing in space
Indian Express — 6:06 am ET (1006 GMT) ISRO-ESA agreement: Space agencies sign agreement for Earth Observation missions
The Hindu — 6:06 am ET (1006 GMT) |
