Backward switches doomed probe (AP/BBC) {Genesis}

[eppur_se_muova]

Genesis slammed to Earth after parachutes failed

Wednesday, June 14, 2006; Posted: 12:59 p.m. EDT (16:59 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- A report released Tuesday blamed a design flaw for the 2004 crash of a NASA space probe carrying solar wind atoms back to Earth and criticized engineers for failing to detect the error.

The 231-page document prepared by independent investigators found that gravity switches on the Genesis probe designed to trigger the deployment of its parachutes were installed backward.

Genesis' chutes never opened and it slammed into the Utah desert on September 8, 2004, after a three-year mission collecting microscopic solar wind particles that scientists hoped would provide clues to the origins of the solar system.

Investigators found that the probe's builder, Lockheed Martin, skipped a critical pre-launch test that would have uncovered the fatal flaw because of time constraints. Instead, engineers decided to do a simpler test by comparing Genesis' design to drawings of another spacecraft, Stardust, which was built earlier and had passed rigorous testing.
***
The report also said lack of oversight by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which managed the $264 million mission, caused the error to remain undetected from the design phase to the review stage. Investigators also faulted the space agency's "faster, better, cheaper" philosophy for creating an environment where cost issues were put ahead of a successful mission.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/06/14/genesis.crash.ap/index.html

"Faster, better, cheaper" has been producing some amazing results. It's a shame that an inflexible approach to policy enforcement pushed a contractor to cut corners. The cost savings need to be confined as much as possible to the overall mission profile and basic design -- which has been done very successfully in several outstanding missions -- leaving some wiggle room for minor cost overruns in the implementation stages, as these are bound to occur in anything as exploratory and innovative as space missions.

[xchrom]

1. another bush failure.

[Tempest]

2. It's Clinton's fault!

I just wanted to beat out any freepers lurking in here.

[Kutjara]

3. Its a simple matter of priorities.

There is only so much money available to even a wealthy country like the USA.

When it comes down to a choice between spending a few million extra dollars expanding the frontiers of human knowledge and deepening our understanding of the universe, or a few billion dollars murdering Iraqi children, I think you'll agree that our Divine Leader has made the right choice.

I mean, space is boooooring. Killin' is fun!

[lakeguy]

4. so, do we get our money back for their screw up or does the

American tax payer have to eat the multimillion dollar bill from another incompetent corporation?

[Nihil]

5. Put it this way ...

... if option 1 wins then there's still hope for the planet ...

[rman]

6. Hey, we've got to reduce cost,

in order to increase profits, which improves the economy, which is good for everyone. right?