NASA Declares End to Deep Impact Comet Mission (lost to fucking Y2K like bug)

[Awesomecaek]

[URL="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/09/130920-deep-impact-ends-comet-mission-nasa-jpl/"]National Geographic[/URL]

[quote=NG]
Dan Vergano

[URL="http://news.nationalgeographic.com"]National Geographic[/URL]
Published September 20, 2013
[B]NASA officials declared the Deep Impact mission lost on Friday, after a computer glitch doomed the comet-smashing spacecraft.[/B]
Launched in 2005, the spacecraft memorably [URL="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/04/0404_060404_deep_impact.html"]smashed a copper-jacketed probe into the comet Tempel 1[/URL] at 22,800 miles an hour (36,700 kilometers an hour) on July 4 of that year. It then flew through the debris cloud to capture the resultant fireworks, the first close inspection of a comet's interior. (See [URL="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/02/pictures/110216-comet-tempel-1-stardust-nasa-next-space-science/"]"'Deep Impact' Comet Revealed by NASA Flyby[/URL].")
The [URL="http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/103744main_presskit_121404.pdf"]$267 million spacecraft [/URL]later flew by the comet Hartley 2 in 2010, and this year it [URL="http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-047"]captured images of comet ISON[/URL], which is headed toward a close encounter with the sun in November.
But now the Deep Impact spacecraft appears to be lost.
[/quote]

[quote]"Basically, it was a Y2K problem, where some software didn't roll over the calendar date correctly," said A'Hearn. The spacecraft's fault-protection software (ironically enough) would have misread any date after August 11, 2013, he said, triggering an endless series of computer reboots aboard Deep Impact.[/quote]

[aznz888]

as a programmer, i find it insulting that we lost a spacecraft's functionality due to something so strangely trivial

[Corn]

[QUOTE=aznz888;42261328]as a programmer, i find it insulting that we a spacecraft due to something so strangely trivial[/QUOTE]

I agree, I too hate it when we a spacecraft

[aznz888]

[QUOTE=Laserbeams;42261330]I agree, I too hate it when we a spacecraft[/QUOTE]

i accidentally the post

[Apocalypsewaffle]

A multi-million dollar datefield error

Oh dear.

[Zephyrs]

[QUOTE=MendozaMan;42262103]A multi-million dollar datefield error

Oh dear.[/QUOTE]

NASA does it again. At least this time they deliberately crashed into something.

[Missing User]

This stuff I believe is a lot more common than you think when it comes to spacecraft.

[MIPS]

This is how homeless people are created.

[Explosions]

[QUOTE=MIPS;42265698]This is how homeless people are created.[/QUOTE]

I always thought it was mental illness and alcohol abuse, though I assume that's where NASA's scientists will be heading after this mishap.

[Sableye]

the mission was only ment to last like 1 year and visit one comet, it could have taken serious damage from the impactor debris when it flew by if that had contained more than just dust. still you would think they would have caught this bug in the software in the last 7 years

[kidwithsword]

[QUOTE=aznz888;42261328]as a programmer, i find it insulting that we lost a spacecraft's functionality due to something so strangely trivial[/QUOTE]

As a programmer you should also understand that overlooking something so strangely trivial is not unheard of and certainly is not uncommon.

[profan]

[QUOTE=kidwithsword;42265926]As a programmer you should also understand that overlooking something so strangely trivial is not unheard of and certainly is not uncommon.[/QUOTE]

Programmers hate writing proper date management systems, seriously :v:

The "it works right now so it's fine, fuck the future" mentality is very real in that sense.

[FluD]

[IMG]http://sayable.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/large_woman_tin_foil_hat.jpg[/IMG]
the truth will not be published

[Winsanity]

[QUOTE=aznz888;42261328]as a programmer, i find it insulting that we lost a spacecraft's functionality due to something so strangely trivial[/QUOTE]

Hindsight is always 20/20

[Sgt-NiallR]

[QUOTE=aznz888;42261328]as a programmer, i find it insulting that we lost a spacecraft's functionality due to something so strangely trivial[/QUOTE]

It isn't that trivial. If it was, we wouldn't have lost the craft.

[Archival]

[QUOTE=Sgt-NiallR;42268632]It isn't that trivial. If it was, we wouldn't have lost the craft.[/QUOTE]

When it comes to spacecraft pretty much everything isnt that trivial but its still such a small thing its not that surprising something like it was overlooked.

Its like that time one of the programmers for a timed ejection seat on some manned test flight (not sure off what) wrote down the altitude that the chutes should open at in km when the documentation was in miles.
Manned craft into the ground at mach 1.

[Johnny on Flame]

[QUOTE=Profanwolf;42265945]Programmers hate writing proper date management systems, seriously :v:

The "it works right now so it's fine, fuck the future" mentality is very real in that sense.[/QUOTE]

It is quite ironic that it was the fault-protection software that ruined the whole deal tho.

[Sobek-]

I feel sorry for that poor little craft up there in space, endlessly rebooting itself until the silicon can't take any more and it just STOPS. Dead.

:(

[MrWasabi]

[QUOTE=Laserbeams;42261330]I agree, I too hate it when we a spacecraft[/QUOTE]

We a whole spacecraft? Seriously?!