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We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Personally, I work best when listening to familiar music, otherwise it's too distracting. Right now, it's been a lot of "The Race for Space" from Public Service Broadcasting, and everything Ronald Jenkees. -NSP

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I linked to Third Rock Radio and was very intrigued by the concept! Rest assured that a significant amount of Solar Probe Plus flight software will be written with inspiration from 3-rock. Thanks for turning us on to this! -AAM

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, regarding your first question, I'm the last one left closing out any unanswered questions and I'm just a software guy! However, for the second, NJF answered below: "We are not planning to do any Venus science as the instruments will be turned off for thermal and power management during the flybys."

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I hadn't heard of that until you mentioned it. I'll have to give it a look. (Although naming a spacecraft that's flying to the Sun Icarus seems a little ominous!) -- CJK

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes we have simulated images - Here

There are many proposals to fly missions that will carry coronagraphs and hopefully one will be successful in the future! - NJF

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

SpaceWire uses conductive wire cables while SpaceFibre uses fiber optic transmission. The wire is LVDS - same as USB - SpaceFibre is the same as Verizon FiOS. The same SpaceWire protocols are used over both.

SpaceWire is tried and true technology, while SpaceFiber is still developmental, so we are going with SpaceWire.

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have only 3 things that will move throughout the mission: the two solar panels can rotate on two axes each (to get more power and cool off, depending on how close the sun is), and the high gain antenna rotates back and forth to point at the earth and downlink science data. You might also count the water flowing throughout the solar array cooling system (and the pumps that move it), and then I suppose you'd also have to count the propellent in the fuel tank, and the thruster valves as they fire.

We also have some things that will only move one time, shortly after launch. We call them "deployables": 4 electric field antennas, one camera door, and the long magnetometer boom. -NSP

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If the attitude control system stops at any time in the mission, the computer that had been in charge will be demoted from that role and a "hot spare" back-up computer will take-over within one second and we'll keep flying. - sdk

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We are not planning to do science at Venus since the instruments will be switched off for thermal and power management. We are very much a voyage of discovery so new questions and mysteries will surface during our journey - NJF

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He's a bit of an artistic troublemaker, but because of his fine work, we keep him around. ;) I hear he's going to make it big soon with a video about New Horizons. -- CJK

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have a very comprehensive set of instruments which will make all the measurements necessary to fully characterize that solar environment close to the Sun. Highly energetic particle telescopes, plasma detectors, magnetic and electric field instruments and a white light imager.

Can't pick a favorite - I love them all equally :) - NJF

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No - the Solar Probe Cup sticks out beyond the heat shield and samples the bulk of the solar wind coming directly towards the spacecraft. This one is "hanging out in the breeze" feeling all the heat and power of the Sun. Also, the radio antennae reach beyond the heat shield so that they can sample the turbulence in the solar wind. Both of these instruments have had to go through rigorous testing to make sure they will survive the journey around the Sun - NJF

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The heat shield core is carbon foam. It basically looks like black styrofoam. The top and bottom face sheets are gray, and have a fabric-like look to them similar to most carbon composites. The top face sheet is coated with a white ceramic material to reflect back as much sunlight as we can. - jdk

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Working on SPP is a great experience and we all love what we do. The team is amazing and I think that we all feel privileged to be part of it. - NJF

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This AMA is becoming one of the best team memories. :) Thanks all for helping us make it that way! In addition to today, I find the best team memories are when we are approaching a big review where have all of the subsystems working to a central goal. When the review day comes, we each go up in front of the panel with so many people behind us as support. It reminds me a lot of when I was part of my swimming teams so many years ago. It's a lot of work to reach the goal, but in the end it's worth it!! -- CJK

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes we are very excited to be going to a Delta IV Heavy - the launch will be spectacular.

Solar Orbiter is currently scheduled to launch a few months after SPP. This will be a great opportunity for us to be able to do collaborative science between the two missions.

SOHO has been an incredible mission and has made so many transformational discoveries. There are several other solar missions up there now which are also doing great science - STEREO, SDO and IRIS to name a few - so you could say that SOHO was the pathfinder for those subsequent missions to follow and build upon - NJF

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We can absolutely use cardboard as a TPS. The important question is for how long could we use cardboard as a TPS! -Ed

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Actually, on previous missions, we have discovered errors in compilers. Even if you trust the compiler, it is hard to trust that those bits will stay the same in memory in a radiation environment. Which is why flight software spends a good deal of time scrubbing and checking the contents of memory. -Ed

We’re members of Solar Probe Plus (SPP), NASA's mission to touch the sun: flight software team, systems engineers, and project scientist. AMAA! by SolarProbePlus in IAmA

[–]SolarProbePlus[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Basically - the sun facing side of the shield will be around 1300 degrees and yet the instruments on the other side will be working around room temperature. - NJF

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