Oops!! Possibly Another NASA Failure

[SamusAran86]

I woke up this morning and turned on my computer to watch the live webcast of the Genesis Probe return...

The Probe was supposed to enter the atmosphere and release a parachute to slow its decent...

A pair of helecoptors were equiped with stunt pilot's amd hooks to catch the probe by the parachute before it crashed to earth...

at about 8:50 local (AZ) time it was visible entering the atmosphere as a little shiny dot... a few minutes later you could clearly see it, spinning end over end...

The parachute never opened, it hit the ground buring itself halfway into the ground and cracking the probe, and possibly destroying the contents... nothing will be known till it is examined later

Oops! Story

 

[starfx6464]

That just sucks completely. I esspecially feel bad for the engineers. You think you have it all figured out and tested for a battery of glitches and then BAM! I just hope they can recover the samples.

 

[Mr_Snipes]

Well sometimes that stuff happens when you havn't touched it for several years and then you try to bring it home. Sometimes things go great and other times this happens. To bad they can't make an indestrutible space craft, that could hit the ground at over 100 MPH and not even be damaged.

 

[Doc]

They could make it, but don't have the budget for that kind of thing.

 

[SamusAran86]

actually if you read the bottom of the story (link in first post) the next mission they are doind like this has a capsule that can survive

Another NASA probe named Stardust is due to return to the Utah Test and Training Range in 2006, bearing samples of cosmic dust from a comet's wake. Stardust uses a similar parachute system to brake its descent. However, the Stardust capsule is designed to be cut loose from its parachute and survive impact.

 

[Mr_Snipes]

But survive an impact at what speed? "Being cut from its parachute" at what altitude? That will make a big difference. Will it survive an impact from space like the first.

 

[Pianobone]

Did anyone see the footage? The probe looked like a badly thrown frisbee falling to the ground.