The Astra commercial venture, to deliver four satellites to orbit -- as a partnership with NASA Spaceflight, failed this week. This is no dart at the programs -- as we well-know how hard this exacting engineering and design is to get right, each and every time.
But it should humble us -- and renew our commitment to extensive on-ground testings. The loss of 40 satellites over the weekend, the now-derelict Musk red roadster and this footage, cued up for on-board cams of the second stage separation. . . tell us we still plainly have much to learn. Here's a bit, from NASA Spaceflight.com
. . .The mission was to be the first for Astra to deploy satellites into orbit, lifting four CubeSats into a 500-kilometer altitude, 41-degree inclination Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The CubeSats were built by three different universities and the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. This was the third launch of Rocket 3.3 with the last mission, STP-27AD2, successfully reaching orbit for the first time. . . .
I would argue, based on the above -- that unless humans are absolutely required to go to deeper space (Moon, or Mars), we might be well-advised to use robotics. The agency should not risk another human life, at least not for the sole PR "feel-good" purpose of reaching Mars (where robotics have proved to serve, and serve well) -- nor the Moon (again -- why, exactly?), as we have automated ways of avoiding all that risk. And robotic missions are geometrically less-expensive than sending humans to deep space. Onward, smiling -- just the same.
नमस्ते
No comments:
Post a Comment