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From: starrfie@hydro.la.asu.edu (Sumner Starrfield)
Subject: Mars Observer Update #2 - 08/27/93
Date: Fri, 27 Aug 93 21:16:05 MST
Forwarded from the Mars Observer Project
MARS OBSERVER STATUS REPORT
August 27, 1993
5:30 PM PDT
The Mars Observer flight team continued today to listen for any response from
the spacecraft, three days after its planned orbit around Mars. At this time
communication has not been reestablished.
The command sequence to "reboot" the spacecraft's central computer, sent at
4:30 a.m. PDT this morning (Aug. 27), would place the spacecraft in "safe
mode," in which state it would listen for commands from the ground for 64
hours. If, at the end of this interval, it had not heard from the ground, a
"phone home" command would be executed on the spacecraft.
Late Friday, the flight team was deciding whether to allow the 64-hour safing
mode program to clock out before considering sending other commands to the
spacecraft this weekend. Commands sent prior to that 64-hour safing interval
could interrupt the safe mode interval and reset the clock to begin another 64-
hour countdown.
In the team's attempts to regain communications with Mars Observer, a number of
failure scenarios have been identified. At this time, however, NASA does not
know what caused the loss of communication, nor can the agency assign blame to
any particular part or process.
NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin yesterday named Dr. Timothy Coffey to head the
Mars Observer investigation board. Dr. Coffey is currently director of
research at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.
It is NASA's standard policy to implement an independent review when there is
cause to believe that a mission's primary objective cannot be met.
This status will be updated during the day and evening as new information
becomes available.
Return to the Powerful Daisaku Nogami
vsnet-adm@kusastro.kyoto-u.ac.jp
