--- On Wed, 24/8/11, R Oler orbitjet@hotmail.com wrote:
Trevor with all due respect...no The Progress failure is a reminder that anything that has to do with technology is hazardous and if you do not deal with it by appropriate methods or get sloppy then failure will occur.
The thing is launches are done by human beings and humans do get sloppy at times or turn a blind eye to short comings because they believe with good reason that if they don't they won't get promotion or may even be sacked.
Submarines have the advantage of never exploding less than a minute after leaving harbor.
I know that its a big deal to say "space is hard" and that excuses all sorts of things including mediocrity or failure to follow established technical procedures and guidelines.
Yes in space mediocrity or failure to follow established technical procedures and guidelines kills - for most earth bound activities people can get away with it most of the time.
When we look at the video of the deployment of ARISSat-1, were the Cosmonouts deliberately knocking the satellite against the ISS structure or was maneuvering a satellite in a weighless environment very difficult?
Thinking back about the deployment it doesn't suprise me that it was the 70cm antenna that broke off. The 2 meter antenna is big and conspicuous so you'd try your best to ensure it didn't hit anything. The 70cm antenna is small, inconspicuous and on the opposite side of the satellite to the 2 meter antenna that you're taking care not to knock - result the 70cm antenna is the one that gets clobbered.
73 Trevor M5AKA