NASA fixes solar observation spacecraft by turning it off and turning it on again
- Reference: 1678194009
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/03/07/nasa_ibex_reboot/
- Source link:
IBEX was put into [1]contingency mode in February after NASA reset its onboard systems and the almost 15-year-old spacecraft's flight computer subsequently failed to respond to commands uploaded from mission control. Engineers have since performed a so-called "firecode reset" as the craft's orbit reached its closest point to Earth.
"To take the spacecraft out of a contingency mode, the mission team performed a firecode reset (which is an external reset of the spacecraft) instead of waiting for the spacecraft to perform an autonomous reset and power cycle on March 4," NASA [2]confirmed on Monday.
[3]
"After the firecode reset, command capability was restored. IBEX telemetry shows that the spacecraft is fully operational and functioning normally."
[4]
[5]
[6]Launched in 2008, the IBEX spacecraft carries instruments to detect energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) that form when hot ions from the solar wind collide with cold gaseous atoms from the interstellar medium, the stuff in-between stars in outer space.
Using data collected from the IBEX-Hi and IBEX-Lo sensors, astronomers can plot the boundaries of the Solar System. All the planets and other astronomical objects are encased in a bubble known as the "heliosphere" created by the solar wind.
[7]Astronomers unravel solar system's strange energy 'ribbon'
[8]NASA: Solar system may have alien origin
[9]China launches solar observation satellite
[10]Physicists wrap neutrino detector in cosy blanket to shed light on the Sun's secondary fusion cycle
IBEX has helped scientists discover how solar activity impacts the heliosphere over the Sun's 11-year cycle. The heliosphere generated by the Sun expands and contracts during periods of stronger and weaker activity, leading to higher and lower concentrations of ENAs.
These findings were only possible because IBEX has been operational for so long. "It takes so many years for these effects to reach the edge of the heliosphere," Jamey Szalay, a research scientist at Princeton University working on the mission, previously [11]said . "For us to have this much data from IBEX, finally allows us to make these long-term correlations."
[12]
Fixing the satellite will allow astronomers to continue gathering data on the Sun's activity and solar wind for a while yet. ®
Get our [13]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/01/nasa_ibex_swot_glitches/
[2] https://blogs.nasa.gov/sunspot/2023/03/06/nasas-ibex-spacecraft-resumes-science-operations/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZAdtuwFLLMizls9nljUp7wAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZAdtuwFLLMizls9nljUp7wAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZAdtuwFLLMizls9nljUp7wAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2008/10/20/ibex_launch/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2013/02/06/ibex_ribbon_explained/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2012/01/31/nasa_ibex_probe/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/12/chinas_solar_exploration_mission_now/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/26/borexino_collaboration_cno_fusion/
[11] https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/nasa-ibex-charts-11-years-change-at-boundary-interstellar-space-heliosphere-sun
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZAdtuwFLLMizls9nljUp7wAAAE8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Does it involve a long paperclip?
It's presumably why they waited until "the craft's orbit reached its closest point to Earth".
I was slightly bemused by the thought of an "external reset" too.
Re: Does it involve a long paperclip?
External reset was puzzling me too. Maybe they reached out from the ISS or perhaps friendly aliens.
Re: Does it involve a long paperclip?
Guessing from context, I presume "external" means the sat was asked to reset by external controllers, as opposed to "internal" which presumably means "the sat decides to reset itself".
So pressing a red button on the sat itself - should that even be possible - would then be a "surface" reset? Hmm...
Re: Does it involve a long paperclip?
You've seen those 'useless boxes' that emit a finger and turn themselves off when you try to turn them on?
This is just the same in reverse.
Re: Does it involve a long paperclip?
The Mysterons made the satelite explode and recreated it.
Re: Does it involve a long paperclip?
I think they just got a man and space van from local classifieds to poke it for a few quid.
Recover from latch-up
There is a good reason to use "turn it off and on again" procedures. Especially when you are in space in a very noisy environment.
Microchips suffer from latch-up . It is when parasitic 4-layer transistor elements on the chip (a thyristor) start to conduct. You cannot turn these off unless you physically cut the power to the chip. The parasitic elements are automatically created in the process of layering all those P and N layers on top of each other (which is the whole point in creating active elements on microchips).
The substrate of a chip is normally kept at a potential (*) to prevent these parasitic thyristors from starting to conduct. However, strong radiation can overcome the barrier and cause a voltage spike in elements and thus cause a parasitic thyristor to start conducting.
(*) Modern chips us an on-chip charge pump for the necessary potential. Very "old" chips required an additional negative voltage to be supplied from the outside.
Re: Recover from latch-up
CMOS latch-up is one of the worst enemies I've had to face.
I used to design and install 6809-powered heating controllers, and people would /insist/ on putting them inside the contactor cabinet - right next to a load of heavily inductive monster relays switching large pumps, generating big sparks when they were disengaged. This latched the electronics up all the time.
Took ages to fix using suppressors and supply filters everywhere, but getting sales to understand it would've been far cheaper to do it properly was impossible. "Wots noise? Just make it work. Mine's the car with more shiny letters on the back than anyone else's."
Tossers.
shutdown -r now....
Unless you have systemd...
Unless you have systemd, because if you have systemd then you'll be struck with
systemd-shutdown waiting for process XX to finish [10 of infinite minutes]
and you have to go and press ctrl-alt-del like crazy to make it actually reboot.
bash: shutdown: command not found
"Ah bollocks! Told you we shouldn't have updated to fekkin systemd! Poettering!!!!"
[Edit: @Kurgan - bloody beat me to it! :D]
Interstellar Explorer?
If you want to browse the cosmos, these days there are better tools available on the Webb.
oh my word, Musk hasn't been blamed yet in here
Does it involve a long paperclip?
How to you do a firecode reset? I suppose that a very long paperclip needs to be inserted in a small hole to press a button while the spacecraft is at its perigee.