• Riskable@programming.dev
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      4 months ago

      My question exactly: The computers should be purpose-built, including the operating system.

      Why TF aren’t they using something like NASA Linux‽

      If they made it open source you bet your ass they’d get shittons of free support from the global community! If they’re running my software I’d be willing to hop on a call with the command center on any day at any hour!

      “Yes, I know it’s Christmas but NASA is having some trouble with a systemd script on a space ship that’s currently in space…”

      • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        My question exactly: The computers should be purpose-built, including the operating system.

        They are, mission critical systems are typically on a Unix/Linux base or completely custom built.

        The systems that use Windows are the ones related to office work, like updating the crew’s bank information and distributing pay.

  • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    The article leaves out that this was on Commander Wiseman’s personal tablet, a Microsoft Surface Pro and not any device associated with the mission.

    He sought tech support for internet connectivity issues on a PCD (personal computing device), which is a Microsoft Surface Pro.

    The ‘Two Microsoft Outlooks’ was a description of the issue he was having. The headline is implying that there are two machines running Outlook that don’t work.

    NASA detected that the PCD was actually on a network. It asked the commander for permission to connect to the tablet remotely so it could look into a problem with the Optimus software. “I also see that I have two Microsoft Outlooks and neither one of those are working,” Wiseman responded, per a clip shared by Niki Grayson on Bluesky. “If you wanna remote in and check Optimus and those two Outlooks, that would be awesome.”

    The source of the quotes and a better article:

    https://www.engadget.com/computing/artemis-ii-crew-is-just-like-us-needs-help-with-microsoft-outlook-issues-145230968.html

    • LiveLM@lemmy.zip
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      4 months ago

      How fast is their internet connection? I didn’t expect them to be able to “remote in”, I thought the latency would be awful

      • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        In Earth orbit, there would be little latency. Starlink operates at ~500km and latency on that network is around 50ms. ‘Traditional’ internet satellites are in geosync orbit which is around 35,000 km, their latency is in the 250ms range.

        At TLI (Translunar Injection) burn they were at 185km. They would have been a bit higher when the problem happened but their apogee was 2,600km, so they were somewhere in the 50-100ms range

        They use the TDRS for data, it has a capacity of around 800Mbps but that is shared with the ISS.

        So, their Internet connection is probably better than people using cellular data or Starlink. At the moon it’ll be in the 2500ms range.

        They’re testing an optical system that would allow for much higher bandwidth, in the 100s of Gbps. The hardware that they’re carrying will only do about 250Mbps but there are optical tricks they can do to increase that significantly once they confirm the base system works.

      • Threeme2189@sh.itjust.works
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        4 months ago

        According g to google

        It takes light approximately 1.25 to 1.3 seconds to travel from Earth to the Moon. At the speed of light.

        So, worst case scenario is about 2.5 seconds of latency. That’s doable for tech support, I guess.

        • LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          And being that it’s a personal device that they can’t get either version of their own personal outlook to work, the fix will likely be having their spouse reset the password here on earth and tell them the new password because they likely forgot it. Otherwise you’d just tell them to use webmail until they got back, no point in fucking around with a locally installed product on a personal device when they will be back in less than 10 days

      • tb_@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        'cuz they can’t very well send someone over.

        On a more serious note: that’s just the easiest way to go about it? I wouldn’t let my boss remote into my personal machine, but if I were to take it on a mission to the moon that’d be a bit different.

      • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        I guess I should have said ‘and not on any device required for the mission’. The PCDs are personal devices for the individual’s business and convenience.

        They are for things like e-mailing, looking at mission manuals and accessing the Internet. They’re not involved in the operation of the Integrity. All of the mission-critical systems that operate the ship are purpose-built.

        But NASA doesn’t need to re-invent the wheel when it comes to e-mail and PDF reading, so they buy commercial hardware because it’s way cheaper, it works well enough and if it fails it doesn’t compromise the mission.

        • Kjell@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          That makes a lot more sense. When I was reading PCD I was thinking about a private device, even if they don’t have much space and even less time I was thinking that they might bring a few small private things. Like a photo of their family, maybe a book etc.

  • Arcanoloth@lemmy.ml
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    4 months ago

    Nice April 1st. I mean that’d be almost as ridiculous as running nuclear subs on Windows, right? Long EOL’d versions at that, eh?

    rustles papers

    Oh.

  • NutWrench@lemmy.world
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    4 months ago

    Every time Microsoft does an update, they reduce functionality. Basic functions like print, search and file storage get moved into sub-sub-sub menus. The point of this is to make room on the main screen for ads. Screwing up your work flow gives you more time to look at them. This is intentional.

  • 404found@lemmy.zip
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    4 months ago

    No way in hell I would want to go to the moon nowadays. Technology these days is like having two left feet. Especially if AI is involved.

    • poopkins@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      The live stream of the launch was low resolution with constant cutouts. I was also surprised by how poor the tracking was. It’s saddening to see how much worse this has been so far compared to 1969.

      • Simulation6@sopuli.xyz
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        4 months ago

        To be fair it was cutting edge SiFi come to life in 1969. This is at least 30 years too late for that sort of world of tomorrow excitement. Is there even anything ‘cutting edge’ on this launch? I mean Outlook, really? Outlook poor if that is the best they could do.

      • AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        Yeah, I rewatched the launch from Everyday Astronaut’s livestream and he actually had better footage, he had a tracking camera showing the booster separation

        Outside of the launch part, I think it’s mostly because SpaceX has set the standard so high, with tons of high resolution cameras streaming over Starlink even during reentry

        • poopkins@lemmy.world
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          4 months ago

          SpaceX does a good job, but it didn’t exist in 1969. My own take on this is that as a society we simply don’t care and are generally worse at our jobs.

          It’s always assumed that things are constantly getting better, but I’m reminded at moments like this that over the course of nearly 60 years, we’ve not progressed as much as we’d like to think.

          • AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            It’s clear that several people in charge of the youtube livestream have no idea about how to do that correctly. I think the difference is just effort. Viewership was tiny compared to Apollo 11, as was the hype leading up to it. It’s clear that NASA could provide a whole lot better footage if even some random youtuber (Everyday Astronaut) can beat them. So that aspect is, as you said, because as a society we don’t really care about the Artemis launch. SpaceX does put a fair amount of effort into their livestreams, and you can easily tell by watching them.

            For the recorded footage, film often has a lot higher dynamic range than digital cameras and usually looks a whole lot better when recording a launch up close.

            Far shots are limited by atmospheric distortion and physical limits from diffraction for a given aperture size. None of that can change.

            IDK anything about the quality of the original live broadcast of Apollo 11, so i don’t have anything to compare in that regard

  • Ch3rry314@piefed.social
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    4 months ago

    The spacecraft that took astronauts to the Moon used the Apollo Guidance Computer, developed by MIT’s Instrumentation Laboratory.

    Clock speed: Approximately 1 MHz
    Memory: About 64 KB total
    Word size: 16-bit architecture
    Power consumption: About 55 watts
    
    • partofthevoice@lemmy.zip
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      4 months ago

      Outlooks, is that what’s inside of me?

      See, I’ve been thinking a lot about this. What am I? What aren’t I? Am I composite or irreducible? These are hard fucking questions.

      I think about why I care in the first place… unlike dogs, cats, kangaroos… the behavior of these animals don’t demonstrate contemplation. It’s as though they exist in a sort of “spotlight” consciousness—aware and responding to the spotlight of qualia in their field of awareness. Why are we different?

      Psychedelics are rather interesting because they have this profound capacity for instigating the feeling of deep insight. How is it that some mushrooms can make me feel like everything suddenly makes sense, when I have not actually learned anything during my trip?

      I get the feeling that the quality of an insight can be approximated somehow, and the brain likely uses this to make me feel the “aha” moment I know from true insights. That’s to say, insight is a feeling—and it can be triggered independent of actual insights having occurred. Fascinating idea, no?

      How might my brain approximate the quality of an insight? Well, if I’m not full of shit about this, then I think the answer here is an architectural one. Something about the structure of concepts should, perhaps necessarily, allow for related concepts to be graded by the quality of their relationship. For example as when you learn a new form of mathematics, as your brain realizes the strength of connection to prior learned forms of mathematics, it can make you feel “aha.”

      The “aha” feeling is tethered to my reward incentive, which helps structure my self-prescribed purpose. I want to learn, understand, grow… these are all endeavors that help mankind, because it is in mankind’s personal interest to levy control over nature. It makes sense, in this way, that I am how I am.

      But outlooks inside me? Hmm… I need to think on your theory more.

        • partofthevoice@lemmy.zip
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          4 months ago

          Go•mor rah I ga’môra l

          a town in ancient Palestine, probably south of the Dead Sea. According to Gen. 19:24 it was destroyed by fire from heaven, along with Sodom, for the wickedness of its inhabitants.

          noun a wicked or depraved place: the city has always been more than a tawdry Sodom and Gomorrah.

          Probably not…

          Gamora

          Marvel Comics fictional character

          Still doesn’t seem right…

          What do you mean?