Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Elspode
Three cheers for Smeds!
So, what did they change to make the data useable?
|
The original navigation called for Huygens to be entering Titan as Cassini was approaching. This caused the Doppler shift. The navigation change put Cassini passing by Titan when Huygens was doing its drop. That eliminated the Doppler shift.
So many missions have had previous near misses averted by people on the ground. Not only is that the story of Apollo 13. It is also the story of Hubble, Solar Max, SpaceLab, Spirite (on Mars), and so many other research operations. The one factor that so often causes failure is when the little people were denied oppurtunity to make the decisions. This was the reason for both Challenger and Columbia murders. Often stories of how little people saved missions is rarely reported. How many heard about the near disaster for Huygen that was averted in 2000? How many heard about the rescue of Solar Max only a few years ago. Solar Max went on to become one of science's most productive accomplishments.