Challenge accepted.

Challenge accepted.

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0 thoughts on “Challenge accepted.”

  1. The idea that it isn’t a challenge is what blew up Columbia. Everyone in the space program knows there are always challenges, the largest being complacency. 

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  2. The idea that it isn’t a challenge is what blew up Columbia. Everyone in the space program knows there are always challenges, the largest being complacency. 

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  3. I think the technical challenges they speak of in regards to things like hangouts will fall along the lines of IT security issues.   It’s not as though they have normal internet access up there.    Still…  of all the things they do, those should be easy problems to solve, comparatively.

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  4. I think the technical challenges they speak of in regards to things like hangouts will fall along the lines of IT security issues.   It’s not as though they have normal internet access up there.    Still…  of all the things they do, those should be easy problems to solve, comparatively.

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  5. I can’t for the life of me imagine that having a G+ Hangout would present the same level of challenge that dropping a probe on Mars, or that blew up the Challenger, presented.  No one is diminishing those acts by stating a Hangout should be cake… so long as the internet connection is secure and functioning.

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  6. I can’t for the life of me imagine that having a G+ Hangout would present the same level of challenge that dropping a probe on Mars, or that blew up the Challenger, presented.  No one is diminishing those acts by stating a Hangout should be cake… so long as the internet connection is secure and functioning.

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  7. Oh, you’re talking just about how hard it’d be to have a hangout with the ISS? Well, that’s harder than you realize. First, the comms have limited bandwidth. They are entirely dependent upon satellites. And there are still plenty of times where the ISS does not have any comm with the ground. It seems impossible, but the technology of the space program is always old. It’s required because of how long new tech has to be vetted before flying. The only place similar on earth is Antarctica. When I was there we had hours without any comm with the outside world, with the exception of a satellite phone for emergencies. It’s far more complicated in the big picture than most people would realize. 

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  8. Oh, you’re talking just about how hard it’d be to have a hangout with the ISS? Well, that’s harder than you realize. First, the comms have limited bandwidth. They are entirely dependent upon satellites. And there are still plenty of times where the ISS does not have any comm with the ground. It seems impossible, but the technology of the space program is always old. It’s required because of how long new tech has to be vetted before flying. The only place similar on earth is Antarctica. When I was there we had hours without any comm with the outside world, with the exception of a satellite phone for emergencies. It’s far more complicated in the big picture than most people would realize. 

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  9. You’re entirely missing the point, and also assuming that the three other people in this thread right now don’t know what they are talking about… which couldn’t be further from the truth.  The technical aspects of making the link are irrelevant so long as the link exists.  And that is still not the same as the two examples given previously.

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  10. You’re entirely missing the point, and also assuming that the three other people in this thread right now don’t know what they are talking about… which couldn’t be further from the truth.  The technical aspects of making the link are irrelevant so long as the link exists.  And that is still not the same as the two examples given previously.

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  11. “We have a portion of a KU-band satellite that we control for uplink and downlink. We’re talking about 3Mbps up and 10Mbps down, or maybe a little less for some overhead. That’s our portion for moving files around.”

    Depends on how much they want to dedicate to the Hangout. It’s there. And that’s tech stats four years ago.

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  12. “We have a portion of a KU-band satellite that we control for uplink and downlink. We’re talking about 3Mbps up and 10Mbps down, or maybe a little less for some overhead. That’s our portion for moving files around.”

    Depends on how much they want to dedicate to the Hangout. It’s there. And that’s tech stats four years ago.

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  13. Considering that apparently this post started in response to something else I haven’t read, I’ve been trying to figure out just what is happening. My initial response was to a very vague comment preceding it. My second is based on my personal experiences both at the south pole and working at NASA. I don’t know the ins and outs of why there isn’t consistent internet, but we don’t even have 24 hour coverage of communication. The equipment on the ISS just doesn’t allow for the level of internet we would expect there to be in the space industry. 

    So, what is the push for a hangout? What are the expectations of it? How long? Because even more than the internet issue is the time issue. 

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  14. Considering that apparently this post started in response to something else I haven’t read, I’ve been trying to figure out just what is happening. My initial response was to a very vague comment preceding it. My second is based on my personal experiences both at the south pole and working at NASA. I don’t know the ins and outs of why there isn’t consistent internet, but we don’t even have 24 hour coverage of communication. The equipment on the ISS just doesn’t allow for the level of internet we would expect there to be in the space industry. 

    So, what is the push for a hangout? What are the expectations of it? How long? Because even more than the internet issue is the time issue. 

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  15. Ok, this is the last thing I’ll say on this because, well, I don’t care one way or the other what happens. A hangout would be cool, but I’m not going to worry about it. So… the details of the various communications systems aren’t going to be released to the public. While on paper things look straight forward, they aren’t. It’s cool to try to solve this issue technologically. Have fun with it.

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  16. Ok, this is the last thing I’ll say on this because, well, I don’t care one way or the other what happens. A hangout would be cool, but I’m not going to worry about it. So… the details of the various communications systems aren’t going to be released to the public. While on paper things look straight forward, they aren’t. It’s cool to try to solve this issue technologically. Have fun with it.

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  17. Hang on. They have been released. I just quoted Nasa – they weren’t my words. BTW, I’m a qualified in IT, and a networking specialist. Really, I have more than an inkling of what’s required. And I say it’s possible – I didn’t say NASA would free up the tech needed however. I can’t possibly qualify what their other systems are transmitting, but I’d bet they wouldn’t do a hangout if the life support comms systems got affected. That said, I would be surprised if there isn’t enough left for one.

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  18. Hang on. They have been released. I just quoted Nasa – they weren’t my words. BTW, I’m a qualified in IT, and a networking specialist. Really, I have more than an inkling of what’s required. And I say it’s possible – I didn’t say NASA would free up the tech needed however. I can’t possibly qualify what their other systems are transmitting, but I’d bet they wouldn’t do a hangout if the life support comms systems got affected. That said, I would be surprised if there isn’t enough left for one.

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  19. Right, the details of the system encompass many manuals. There are books of procedures. I’m sure as IT people you’d find them interesting. You’d also find just how limited the systems are. But i don’t know enough to explain it. All i worried about was whether we had comm, not how it worked.

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  20. Right, the details of the system encompass many manuals. There are books of procedures. I’m sure as IT people you’d find them interesting. You’d also find just how limited the systems are. But i don’t know enough to explain it. All i worried about was whether we had comm, not how it worked.

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  21. Disagree. They use a Ku band comms satellite. On the ISS they’re using Thinkpads, which display citrix virtual desktops run from a server on Earth.

    Now, if this is the case, a hangout is impossible using that tech. That doesn’t meant to say it’s not possible, just that the spare latency may not stretch to it.

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  22. Disagree. They use a Ku band comms satellite. On the ISS they’re using Thinkpads, which display citrix virtual desktops run from a server on Earth.

    Now, if this is the case, a hangout is impossible using that tech. That doesn’t meant to say it’s not possible, just that the spare latency may not stretch to it.

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  23. Thinkpads and citrix remote desktops? I’m sure we earth bound techies have those. And playing with the idea is fun – I’m not going to start telling NASA how to do their jobs, but why should we not postulate?

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  24. Thinkpads and citrix remote desktops? I’m sure we earth bound techies have those. And playing with the idea is fun – I’m not going to start telling NASA how to do their jobs, but why should we not postulate?

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  25. Am I speaking another language? shakes head never mind. I’m not going to keep repeating myself. If you’re convinced you know enough to make this all work, given that you know nothing about the actual system and how it works, have fun. I’m not going to waste any more time on it.

    And I’ve used those thinkpads. We trained the astronauts on them so they were using the same equipment as on station. They’re ancient and crap. 

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  26. Am I speaking another language? shakes head never mind. I’m not going to keep repeating myself. If you’re convinced you know enough to make this all work, given that you know nothing about the actual system and how it works, have fun. I’m not going to waste any more time on it.

    And I’ve used those thinkpads. We trained the astronauts on them so they were using the same equipment as on station. They’re ancient and crap. 

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  27. No. You’re speaking English. However, I understand networking, and I take apart Thinkpads for a living. I didn’t say I knew enough to make it work at any point (though I suspect I do), just that the tech exists up there. You raised points, I argued using research and my experience. I never said you stated it was impossible either. I’m not the “average layperson”, and if you think you know more than I about networking & comms then fine, shake your head and walk away. However you’ve just said it’s more complicated than I could imagine, and it’s really not. A satellite, a network and some machines. It’s not, to put it bluntly, rocket science. It’s networking science – which is what I do. Nice postulating with ya though!

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  28. No. You’re speaking English. However, I understand networking, and I take apart Thinkpads for a living. I didn’t say I knew enough to make it work at any point (though I suspect I do), just that the tech exists up there. You raised points, I argued using research and my experience. I never said you stated it was impossible either. I’m not the “average layperson”, and if you think you know more than I about networking & comms then fine, shake your head and walk away. However you’ve just said it’s more complicated than I could imagine, and it’s really not. A satellite, a network and some machines. It’s not, to put it bluntly, rocket science. It’s networking science – which is what I do. Nice postulating with ya though!

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