-
New Horizons Technical Details
Posted by
German_EE
on 15 Jul, 2015 09:09
-
-
#1 Reply
Posted by
T3sl4co1l
on 15 Jul, 2015 09:32
-
And yes by the way, boys and girls, there are vacuum tubes flying out there in space. Predominantly, I think? (Maybe not newer Earth orbiting satellites, but they're top choice for all the deep space probes.)
Tim
-
#2 Reply
Posted by
Dinsdale
on 15 Jul, 2015 11:43
-
From reddit.com:
The code on the spacecraft is written in Assembly. --SJR
Oh! They're "assembly language idiots"!
-
#3 Reply
Posted by
fcb
on 15 Jul, 2015 13:32
-
From reddit.com:
The code on the spacecraft is written in Assembly. --SJR
Oh! They're "assembly language idiots"!
And how many of your designs are flying in space?
-
#4 Reply
Posted by
Dinsdale
on 15 Jul, 2015 14:18
-
I was hoping to draw some more specific comments on the software for this mission.
I thought everyone would be familiar with the part of my comment in quotes. If you are a big Dave fan (like me), you should recognize it.
When I hit "Post", it struck me that this could start some kind of flame war that I didn't intend. So, if you need to comment "off topic", please start another thread. This one is too important.
I apologize for being a smartass.
To answer your question: A couple months ago, a vector board with 12 MOSFETs I fried... I think it's in space.
-
#5 Reply
Posted by
miguelvp
on 15 Jul, 2015 15:38
-
Only thing I see in the pdf is a bunch of FPGAs, I guess they are referring that they programmed the softcores in assembly.
-
#6 Reply
Posted by
zapta
on 15 Jul, 2015 15:48
-
And yes by the way, boys and girls, there are vacuum tubes flying out there in space. Predominantly, I think? (Maybe not newer Earth orbiting satellites, but they're top choice for all the deep space probes.)
Tim
Can you explain?
-
#7 Reply
Posted by
Dinsdale
on 15 Jul, 2015 16:23
-
Only thing I see in the pdf is a bunch of FPGAs, I guess they are referring that they programmed the softcores in assembly.
My comment was in reference to the main processor. I thought that might fall under the topic of "New Horizons Technical Details". Sorry.
But, apparently, after reading
http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3d9luh/were_scientists_on_the_nasa_new_horizons_team/ a little more, there might have been some confusion about that answer and the code was probably mostly written in C.
-
#8 Reply
Posted by
T3sl4co1l
on 16 Jul, 2015 02:06
-
And yes by the way, boys and girls, there are vacuum tubes flying out there in space. Predominantly, I think? (Maybe not newer Earth orbiting satellites, but they're top choice for all the deep space probes.)
Tim
Can you explain?
Travelling Wave Amplifier Tubes (TWTAs) are one of the more efficient wideband amplification methods, reasonably low noise, but most importantly: have been used in space since forever, so they're a *very* mature and reliable method. New Horizons has a pair of 12W amps.
I expect satellites use semiconductor amplifiers as a matter of course, these days, but those are much more numerous and less of a liability if they die.
Tim
-
#9 Reply
Posted by
edavid
on 16 Jul, 2015 02:56
-
Only thing I see in the pdf is a bunch of FPGAs, I guess they are referring that they programmed the softcores in assembly.
My comment was in reference to the main processor. I thought that might fall under the topic of "New Horizons Technical Details". Sorry.
But, apparently, after reading http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3d9luh/were_scientists_on_the_nasa_new_horizons_team/ a little more, there might have been some confusion about that answer and the code was probably mostly written in C.
Here's the edited answer:
Speaking only of the spacecraft code, that was written in C using the Nucleus RTOS. I'd bet there was some assembly in the board support package and maybe some sprinkled here and there, but it the vast majority was written in C. The guidance and control algorithms were auto-generated C via Simulink. --Christopher Krupiarz, New Horizons Flight Software
-
#10 Reply
Posted by
edavid
on 16 Jul, 2015 02:57
-
-
#11 Reply
Posted by
rs20
on 16 Jul, 2015 03:40
-
Out of interest, is the data encrypted? Or could one (hypothetically, with a large enough array and enough protocol reverse engineering skill) pick up the signal and get the pluto pictures ahead of everyone else?
I also enjoyed this tidbit: "A high-gain thermal control loop keeps the crystal resonator temperature stable to within several thousandths of a degree Celsius over the entire operating temperature range of the USO", and also the mention of regenerative circuits which I found amusing given the recent EEVBlog episodes.
-
#12 Reply
Posted by
T3sl4co1l
on 16 Jul, 2015 03:44
-
If they had put 10kW transmitters on it, perhaps. It's so weak, you're basically not going to get anything without a complete Deep Space Network to hear it, though!
AFAIK, their comms are encoded, for spectral, error correcting, and compression reasons. But not encrypted as such.
Tim
-
#13 Reply
Posted by
rbola35618
on 18 Jul, 2015 07:11
-
Hi EEBloggers,
I worked on one of the instruments that is on board the New Horizon spacecraft. The instrument is called SWAP (Solar Winds Around Pluto). Specifically, I worked on the high voltage power. There are 5 or 6 high voltage power supplies the supply up to 4000 volts. The supplies were designed by my mentor who passed away three years ago, Jack Alexander. The other designer was Pat Casey. A fellow by the name of Dennis Guerrero designed the magnetics. Testing and calibration of the supplies was performed by Dennis with me as his assistant. It was a privileged to have worked with all of them. Since then, I have two of my designs flying in space. My first design to fly in space is called IBEW. My second design flying in space launched this year on the mission called MMS. Soon I will have a third flying on a mission called STRFIO. Presently working on a low voltage supply the will go to one of Jupiters moons on a spacecraft called JUICE?
RB
-
#14 Reply
Posted by
fcb
on 18 Jul, 2015 08:12
-
5-6 lines is all we get rbola35618!!!!
We want details, we want to hear about problems, we want to hear about silicon used and above all - we want numbers!!!
-
#15 Reply
Posted by
German_EE
on 18 Jul, 2015 08:15
-
Agreed, more details about how you design and build space qualified hardware would be appreciated. Not just the launch vibration issues, there are also the problems of intense heat and cold plus years spent in a hard vacuum.
-
#16 Reply
Posted by
Psi
on 18 Jul, 2015 09:25
-
5-6 lines is all we get rbola35618!!!!
We want details, we want to hear about problems, we want to hear about silicon used and above all - we want numbers!!!
in other words, we want to hear all about the stuff you're not allowed to tell us
-
#17 Reply
Posted by
MikeW
on 18 Jul, 2015 09:33
-
Why not? It's not military stuff.
-
-
I want to know why a probe was wasted on the boring none planet...
-
#19 Reply
Posted by
TerraHertz
on 18 Jul, 2015 11:01
-
5-6 lines is all we get rbola35618!!!!
We want details, we want to hear about problems, we want to hear about silicon used and above all - we want numbers!!!
in other words, we want to hear all about the stuff you're not allowed to tell us
And we want PHOTOS OF ALL THE SECRET THINGS!
-
-
Breaking news : nasa sends probe to uranus, people everywhere giggle...
-
#21 Reply
Posted by
T3sl4co1l
on 18 Jul, 2015 13:15
-
Speaking of, I wonder: would they be able to do a mission like Cassini, where they tour the moons, rings (if any) and monitor weather? And, being in that general neighborhood, might it be possible to arrange a sufficiently elliptical orbit that would allow for a low fuel transfer to/from Neptune/Uranus if/when nearby? (I'd have to check a chart to see if they're anywhere near each other in the immediate future, or if they ever approach very much.) Going to guess such an orbit is preposterously huge, given the vast distances between planets out there, so nevermind.
Tim
-
#22 Reply
Posted by
German_EE
on 18 Jul, 2015 15:13
-
There's nothing secret about the way they construct satellites so I'm hoping that interplanetary probes use the same techniques. A couple of years ago there was a documentary on Discovery where they showed the construction of one of the ASTRA satellites and they went into considerable detail. One thing I remember was the heating and cooling requirements where they used heat pipes to 'carry' heat from the hot side of the satellite to the cold side.
The amazing thing was the size, one of the latest ASTRA satellites is about the same size as an American school bus and most of that is fuel tanks.