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Rybo

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Everything posted by Rybo

  1. Rybo
    Love em! That was the first thing I noticed and wondered about. I'm assuming this is a private venture? What software are you using for PCB design? I'm half tempted to say they look like Fritzing schematics. What Arduino board are you using and what thermo/hygro/barometer components are you using? I would love to hear more about your project via PM's if you're willing to share. I've been working on a project as well to prove that with some relatively simple modification and code you can use a RockBlock Mk2. SatComm device to easily "hack" into a satellite datalink, even those not in the Iridium constellation.
  2. Rybo
    Gorgeous work!
  3. Rybo
    Don't think of it as cancelled. More like...re-purposed. Keep in mind that this is merely speculation on my part given the conversation I had. He dropped a lot of hints but he never explicitly stated anything. Also know that he is a sub-system engineer and not upper management so what he thinks he knows could be very different than the plans of the executive leadership.
  4. Rybo
    Intriguing. It's hard to gauge dimensions but I find it hard to believe that it weighs the quoted weight. UHF or VHF comms and camera equipment are pretty lightweight. I suppose the bus structure is pretty inefficient though since they are pretty early in the Satdev cycle. Interestingly there are now claims that it has stabilized and a handful of observers have reported potential transmissions on 460-490Mhz. That's a pretty cluttered band though so infer what you will. Still no data downlink transmissions recorded in the S Band so as of now it's still just taking up..... space. Pun intended
  5. Rybo
    My thoughts exactly!
  6. Rybo
    As a follow up...I talked to one friend in particular that seems to think that there won't be a cancellation but a "significant delay and probable rebranding." They have had several ARB's (Action/Administrative Review Board) and are currently generating a new proposal that he didn't have details, or at least wouldn't share them. He did say that there had recently been and out-flow of people from the program going to other programs on the plant like GOES, and GPS. He wasn't clear whether those were layoffs or not. I've done a lot of extrapolation from our conversation so take all this with a grain of salt but I got the impression from him that the InSight mission is scrubbed but that the spacecraft itself will be placed in storage and reused with a new program name and new instrumentation as a way to bypass the cost restrictions but still recover some of the investments. In his opinion they will have the spacecraft ready by the 2020 window. It'll certainly be interesting to see what the future holds.
  7. Rybo
    Civilian observers have verified that the satellite is indeed tumbling. Given the nearly perfectly polar orbit I think it's safe to say that the intended function was either IMINT or SIGINT, although I suspect they aren't yet capable of producing a SIGINT asset without some external help. Given the tumble I doubt they are in communication with the bird though yielding it useless as an intelligence gathering asset.
  8. Rybo
    I have some college buddies that work InSight at the Waterton facility in Colorado. I'll ask them what kind of rumors they are hearing regarding potential cancellation.
  9. Rybo
    I read through some of the comments but not all so I'm not sure if someone has mentioned this or not. Another important factor to consider is atmospheric behavior. In Kerbin the atmospheric pressure density is more-or-less linear from launch until about 60km. It's also completely independent of temperature and AFAIK doesn't simulate winds aloft. IRL that is NOT the case and those play a major factor in the single-burn profiles for launches, especially the Atlas V's that I'm most familiar with. Because of Earth atmospherics, every single launch profile is unique with respect to roll program execution, throttle settings throughout the burn, alpha biased and subsequent closed loop steering windows, MECO and sep timing, etc etc. It's pretty much a necessity to constantly burn and constantly make in flight vector corrections to stay centered on the profile.
  10. Rybo
    A handful of the unclass vehicles I've worked in used in-house UNIX derivatives.
  11. Rybo
    Go to the Cape for the entire month of May and you could see an Atlas, a Delta, and a Falcon launch
  12. Rybo
    I haven't had the time to test this pack yet due to RL commitments but...how large is your payload? The 541 should get you there without any problems. Even an Atlas V 401 should be able to get you to Duna with a small payload, a well-timed launch window, and an efficient ascent profile. If you conserve fuel and use a ballistic capture transfer you should actually have enough △v for a landing on the surface, too.
  13. Rybo
    AHHHHHH! I just got on to check the status and saw the Atlas V pack! Thanks! I can't WAIT to use it. Now someone just needs to make SLC-3 and the MST
  14. Rybo
    Off topic but that was pretty typical visibility for Vandyland, especially on that side of South Base. The roads between SLC-4 and SLC-6 have several dense fog warning signs posted and lots of reflectors on the sides of the roads.
  15. Rybo
    Nice! Several of my coworkers worked a pair of launches out of the SLC-41 before I joined the program. We currently have no plans to launch from the Cape again so my chances of going there are slim.
  16. Rybo
    Ah okay. Well regardless, a working Atlas V is what I'm most excited about. I think I read somewhere in the thread that you're planning on doing Atlas V 400 and 500 series configurations right? Indeed. Vandenberg AFB and Lompoc are like a second home to me I've worked all over SLC-3 when supporting Atlas V launches and got to tour SLC-4 and SLC-6. The SpaceX processing facility is REALLY nice since it's newer. The Delta IV processing facility is older and not nearly as nice but it's absolutely cavernous!
  17. Rybo
    I joined the forums specifically to say thank you for this amazing pack! With slight...modification...I use the Falcon 1 to get 5 ton payloads to 100x100 orbits pretty easily early on in a new career. I'm also curious...do you have any new pictures of the Atlas V modelling? It's my favorite since I've been involved with several Vandyland launches IRL on the payload side.
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