and all censors. There are solar panels, but He spends a lot of time in the Laborato-
these are two thirds reflecting mirrors to ry’s Space Science Missions Operations
radiate away the heat of the sun.” Center, whose networks of screens and
computer stations are dedicated to the
The controlling computer will have two space missions. He does not com-
to keep the craft’s heat shield always municate directly with either craft. When
pointing towards the sun whose rays, at Hill is ready to send a signal to New
that distance, are 11 times stronger than Horizons, he turns around and looks
those reaching Earth. across the room for a woman whose desk
is festooned with a large, colorful sign
“Behind the sun shade the instruments that says “MOM.”
“When I tried to
inside Messenger will be at about room
temperature, even though the shade Nothing gets done on a space mission
explain to my son
itself is heated to about 800 degrees without permission from MOM – the
Fahrenheit,” Hill said. “The computer is Missions Operations Manager who, in
what I did for a living,
responsible for pointing the shade at the this case, is Alice Bowman. Most of the
sun at all times. If something happens men in that position prefer the militaristic
he said, ‘Oh. Like the
and we drift into the wrong angle, it will title of “Ops Manager” but Bowman, a
be the end of the mission in 30 minutes.” physicist, space commander and parent,
Commander on Star
embraces the broader term.
There is built in redundancy, he said, so
Trek.’ And I guess
if a system fails, the on-board compu- When Hill wants to send instructions to
ter can bring up a second system. Hill New Horizons, he takes his request to
that’s correct.”
can send corrections and new program Bowman. “Everything has to be signed off
instructions. But as the craft approaches by me before they go to the pit, where the
Mercury, the round-trip for signals is 26 transmission engineers are. Only people
minutes, “so we don’t have time to handle certified to send commands may do that,
emergency situations. That’s why we have and I tell them what to send.
rules built in for the computer to use. If a
gyroscope isn’t working, it will switch to “When I tried to explain to my son what
the other gyroscope. I did for a living, he said ‘Oh. Like the
Commander on Star Trek.’ And I guess
“If the navigating computer can’t point to that’s correct.” “With each of the sub-systems on New
the sun, it will reboot and try again, Horizons,” Commander Bowman said,
or switch to the backup computer. It It is also fitting. “When I was growing “we have hundreds of points that have
cycles through till it gets the proper up,” said the 46-year-old Richmond to be in step for optimal operation. We
system behavior. With artificial intelli- native, “the Star Trek series was really have defined limits on those points,
gence, we would tell the computer to go popular. We would stop playing outside, and we are constantly checking the data
ahead and fix the problem. Eventually, the go into whosever house was closest, and received from the space craft against those
space community will move towards the watch it. Technology hasn’t quite kept limits.”
development of AI systems where we do up with science fiction. We don’t have
not have to design the responses. But it is phasers, but we do have the Space Some of the problems faced on the Pluto
a maturing process, and we aren’t Shuttle.” mission are mirror images of those faced
there yet.” in the flight to Mercury.
Just as Capt. Kirk, Bowman has more to
When Hill isn’t following the data from do than merely wait for requests and issue “If the command system is trending
Messenger, he looks in the other direc- orders. She is responsible for overseeing hot,” Commander Bowman explained,
tion, where the New Horizons space craft all aspects of the Pluto mission, from “We would handle it differently than
is hurtling towards a fly-by of Pluto and concept, pre-launch design and testing, they would on the Mercury mission. We
its companion, Charon, before moving and all post-launch operations for the try to capture all that heat and keep it
on to explore the Kuiper Belt. The probe, nine-year flight. contained within the spacecraft body, and
launched in January, 2006, is due to warm up the other components so they
arrive at Pluto in 2015. Bowman designed and ran scores of can stay nearly at room temperature.
simulations prior to the Jan. 19 flight on
“I feel very fortunate that I am able to the huge Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canav- “The space craft is built like a thermos
work on two spacecraft that are going to eral, seeking different ways to anticipate bottle to keep the heat in – we’re not
opposite ends of the solar system. How and deal with problems, looking to radiate it out. But we do have
many people can make a claim to that?” which may develop during the long flight. louvers built into the sides and, if neces-
http:www.blackengineer.com
USBE & Information Technology I January/February 2007 25
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