Good afternoon.

A year has gone by since the DART mission failed to automatically find and acquire its target spacecraft, then approach it in a manner that would allow for a safe link up/abort.

This was to be test case for the software that would allow for automatically docking with the ISS. Glad the Russians are doing a better job of it or the re-supplies might not have gone as well as they have.
- LRK -

When I read the information that was supplied by the links from spaceref.com I was not pleased and when I looked again at the pdf file at the NASA links I just got madder.

Somewhere back in my college software programming courses it was drummed into my feeble head that one was supposed to define the problem, define the solution, and then check your programming solution to ensure it fulfilled the task of doing what it was asked to do.

It looks like in this case that neither the problem was defined correctly nor was the solution checked well enough for it to even complete the task as it was defined.
- LRK -

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NASA has completed its assessment of the DART MIB report, which included a classification review by the Department of Defense. The report was found to be NASA-sensitive, but unclassified, because it contained information restricted by International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). As a result, the DART mishap investigation report was deemed not releasable to the public. The following provides an overview of publicly releasable findings and recommendations regarding the DART mishap.
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http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/148072main_DART_mishap_overview.pdf
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Links at NASA - See the pdf file for the source of the quote above. - LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dart/main/index.html
Summary of DART Accident Report

NASA released a summary on May 15, 2006, of the findings about why its Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology spacecraft did not complete its mission and collided with the intended rendezvous satellite on April 15, 2005.

+ Read the Summary (87 Kb PDF)
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/148072main_DART_mishap_overview.pdf

The spacecraft was to autonomously rendezvous with and perform a series of maneuvers in close proximity to a communications satellite no longer in use.
The NASA spacecraft performed nominally during the first eight hours of the mission ― launch, checkout, and rendezvous phases. It accomplished all objectives up to that point, though ground operations personnel noticed some anomalies with the craft's navigation system.

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Please don't hold it against me but Orbital Sciences Corp. was my employer while at NASA Ames for Lunar Prospector.
- LRK -

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http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2003/03-145.html

NASA NEWS

For release: 08/22/03
Release #: 03-145

Space flight demonstrator completes design certification

The Demonstration for Autonomous Rendezvous Technology, or DART, has completed its design certification review for the Orbital Space Plane program - a NASA-wide initiative to develop a crew rescue and transfer vehicle to and from the International Space Station. DART is a flight demonstrator designed to test technologies required for a spacecraft to locate and rendezvous with other craft in space. The DART mission will provide a first-ever autonomous rendezvous capability for the U.S. space program. The DART project is managed at the Marshall Center.

The Demonstration for Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft, recently completed design certification review for the Orbital Space Plane (OSP) program. The OSP is a NASA initiative to develop a crew rescue and transfer vehicle for the International Space Station.

DART is a space flight demonstrator designed to test technologies required for the OSP to locate and rendezvous with the Station. The DART is designed for autonomous operations. DART is controlled by computers, and it does not have a pilot. DART is NASA's first completely computer controlled, rendezvous capable spacecraft.

The design certification review is a lengthy technical analysis to verify the vehicle design with regard to safety, performance and functional requirements. The review evaluates the results of the project's planning and analysis throughout manufacturing, integration, and testing. The review is conducted when the vehicle design and drawings are complete.

"The review is a key accomplishment for the DART team," said Jim Snoddy, DART program manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "The team is pressing ahead to ready the vehicle for a 2004 launch.

DART's demonstration of autonomous rendezvous technologies will be key for the development of the OSP and future reusable launch vehicles," Snoddy said.

Developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va., the DART will be launched on a Pegasus rocket from an L-1011 jet aircraft. At approximately 40,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean, the Pegasus will be released with the DART spacecraft.

Once the DART vehicle is launched, some of the hardware and software tested will enable it to travel from a parking orbit around the Earth to rendezvous, or maneuver close to, a target satellite in space. When DART reaches the satellite, it will perform several close proximity operations.

The entire 24-hour mission will be performed without a human pilot.

The DART is the first of three flight-testing demonstrators. Other demonstrators for the OSP program include the X-37 flight demonstrator developed by Boeing Expendable Launch Systems of Huntington Beach, Calif., and the launch pad abort demonstrator developed by Lockheed Martin Corporation of Denver.

For information about NASA's OSP Program on the Internet, visit

http://www.ospnews.com/ [link no longer works - LRK -]

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The ospnews link doesn't work, that is the Orbital Space Plane link doesn't work, but then that was a link that dated back to 2003 and things have changed since then. [Even the WayBack Machine doesn't like me looking.
http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.ospnews.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/20040627023757/www2.msfc.nasa.gov/errors/forbidden.html

Then again, the Orbital Space Plane was scrapped in favor of the Crew Exploration Vehicle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_Space_Plane

And when you read the accident review you will see that even if you survive the budget/political ax you still may not have the resources to do the job right - if you need an excuse to for not thinking the task through well enough.

I sure hope that whoever programs the software to run the rovers and automatic mining machinery on the new Lunar Outpost has figured out that powdered glass might make for high torque spikes and know how to adjust for changing environmental conditions.

Close the door behind you and check for leaks. A hair in the door lock can make the seal to vacuum not so good, at least if you are trying to keep that newly liberated hydrogen inside the storage tank.

My Scientific American magazine came today and has an article entitled "Dependable Software by Design", June 2006, p. 69, by Daniel Jackson.
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http://www.sciamdigital.com/index.cfm?fa=Products.ViewIssuePreview&ARTICLEID
_CHAR=296496CD-2B35-221B-6EAA6BE12FD49C7C
Dependable Software by Design; June 2006; Scientific American Magazine; by Daniel Jackson; 8 Page(s)

An architectural marvel when it opened 11 years ago, the new Denver International Airport's high-tech jewel was to be its automated baggage handler. It would autonomously route luggage around 26 miles of conveyors for rapid, seamless delivery to planes and passengers. But software problems dogged the system, delaying the airport's opening by 16 months and adding hundreds of millions of dollars in cost overruns. Despite years of tweaking, it never ran reliably. Last summer airport managers finally pulled the plug--reverting to traditional manually loaded baggage carts and tugs with human drivers. The mechanized handler's designer, BAE Automated Systems, was liquidated, and United Airlines, its principal user, slipped into bankruptcy, in part because of the mess.

The high price of poor software design is paid daily by millions of frustrated users. Other notorious cases include costly debacles at the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (a failed $4-billion modernization effort in 1997, followed by an equally troubled $8-billion updating project); the Federal Bureau of Investigation (a $170-million virtual case-file management system was scrapped in 2005); and the Federal Aviation Administration (a lingering and still unsuccessful attempt to renovate its aging air-traffic control system).
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Oh well, just $110 million. Closed within 300 feet and then ran out of fuel, or was it that it bumped its target and didn't know that it still had fuel left?

And what do you do to a driver of a car that gets you in his cross hairs and then forgets to put on the brake? Will we need a space version of "Mothers Against Drunks - MAD"? [Space Autopilot Dumb - SAD]

Thanks for looking up with me. Would you check out that re-supply ship please, seems to be coming in a bit fast?

Larry Kellogg

Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.com/LarryRussellKellogg/
BlogSpot: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/
RSS link: http://kelloggserialreports.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Newsltr.: https://news.altair.com/mailman/listinfo/lunar-update
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-- NASA Releases DART Accident Report Summary
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.nl.html?pid=19838
-- NASA Report: Overview of the DART Mishap Investigation Results - For Public Release
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.nl.html?pid=20605

"The MIB noted cases where the DART team failed to fully use the resources of available subject matter experts. Both the insight and peer review processes provide mechanisms for ensuring that adequate technical expertise is supplied to the project. ... The MIB concluded that internal checks and balances used by DART's prime contractor failed to uncover issues that led to the mishap ..."

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http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dart/main/index.html
Summary of DART Accident Report

NASA released a summary on May 15, 2006, of the findings about why its Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology spacecraft did not complete its mission and collided with the intended rendezvous satellite on April 15, 2005.

+ Read the Summary (87 Kb PDF)
http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/148072main_DART_mishap_overview.pdf

The spacecraft was to autonomously rendezvous with and perform a series of maneuvers in close proximity to a communications satellite no longer in use.
The NASA spacecraft performed nominally during the first eight hours of the mission ― launch, checkout, and rendezvous phases. It accomplished all objectives up to that point, though ground operations personnel noticed some anomalies with the craft's navigation system.

During proximity operations, the spacecraft began using more propellant than expected. Approximately 11 hours into the mission, the craft detected its propellant supply was depleted and began a series of maneuvers for departure and retirement. Although not known at the time, it made contact with and boosted the rendezvous satellite's orbit 1.2 nautical miles higher. The rendezvous satellite was not damaged.

Both satellites are in low-Earth orbits that will not be a hazard to other spacecraft. They will eventually burn up upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
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MISSIONS NEWS

04.16.05 - On Orbit Anomaly Ends DART Mission Early The Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft that was successfully launched Friday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., experienced an on orbit anomaly late Friday.
+ Read More
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dart/media/05-051.html

04.15.05 - DART Successfully Launched April 15 The Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology (DART) spacecraft has successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
+ Read More
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dart/media/05-049.html

04.11.05 - DART Spacecraft to Launch on Pegasus XL Rocket April 15 NASA's Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology to launch during a 7-minute launch window which extends from 10:21:49 - 10:28:49 a.m. PDT.
+ Read More
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/news/releases/2005/32-05.html

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http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/sfn_dart_launch_050415.html
SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2005

NASA's $110 million high-risk, high-tech demonstration of a space autopilot for future human spaceships and robotic cargo craft closed within 300 feet of its target Friday night, then inexplicably ran out of fuel to the dismay of helpless engineers on the ground. Read our full story.

1829 GMT (2:29 p.m. EDT)

NASA's Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology spacecraft ran out of fuel as it approached its target satellite for autopilot tests last night, the program manager told reporters in a news conference a short time ago. It is not clear why DART used substantially more thruster propellant than envisioned, but officials saw the craft was fighting some guidance errors earlier in the mission.

DART was designed to perform two series of maneuvers around the target satellite, plus featured a 30 percent fuel margin, Jim Snoddy said. But the satellite safed itself at a distance of 92 meters from the MUBLCOM satellite instead of closing within five meters and later performing the flyaround demonstrations.

Sensing it didn't have enough fuel to continue with the mission, DART backed away and began its "retirement" procedures. The craft is supposed to fire engines and deplete its hydrazine fuel in the next half-hour or so, thereby moving into a disposal orbit and formally concluding the $110 million flight.

Check back later for a complete report.

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http://www.nasawatch.com/archives/2005/04/dart_news_black.html
April 18, 2005

DART Mission: Partial Success/Partial Failure

On Orbit Anomaly Ends NASA DART Mission Early, NASA HQ

"After a successful rendezvous, acquisition of the target spacecraft, and approach to within approximately 300 feet, DART placed itself in the retirement phase before completing all planned proximity operations, ending the mission prematurely. NASA is convening a mishap investigation board to determine the reason for the DART spacecraft anomaly."

NASA Launches DART Spacecraft to Demonstrate Automated Rendezvous Capability

Editor's update: The reason why no images were released - is because there were none. Getting the images was a balance between ground station coverage, DART's position, and its mission phase. Had an image been received, it would have not shown anything due to the events that had transpired. As for releasing data and updates, the problems with DART happened around 11 hours into the mission - late at night and they happened fast. NASA says that it got the information out - around 7:00 am local time the next day - as soon as people knew what had happened. Prior to the sudden shift by DART into retirement mode, everything had been going more or less smooth and and NASA's project manager said that there would have been little to report other than "things are going smooth".

Editor's earlier note: Why has there been no issuance of status reports on DART by NASA? I have looked at MSFC, HQ, Orbital websites - nothing - no reports after initial launch. No photos, videos, nothing. Go figure: a very cool, enabling mission and no one can tune in as it happens. Indeed, you'd think ESMD would be embracing this as the first mission on the way to implementing VSE.

Reader Comments (send yours to nasawatch@reston.com)

With regard to: "there would have been little to report other than "things are going smooth".

Nonsense.

They could have said:

"The second HAPS burn went off on time at 0055 GMT, within one minute of the planned timeline. DART is now in a circular orbit 40 km behind MUBLCOM. DART has achieved its initial stationkeeping 3 km from MUBLCOM, at 0100 GMT."

... and so on and so on, throughout the afternoon. That would have been exciting. "things are going smooth".. but in a rendezvous mission like this, times and orbits always differ a little from what was in the press kit, which didn't have a very detailed timeline anyway. So we could have had an increasing sense of the *degree* to which things were happening as planned, which would have worked in NASA's favor as instead of our first postlaunch news being "We failed", we'd have got a sense of 'ok, all these different things worked just fine, and then oh dear later on things went wrong'. So I think it was a big mistake that they didn't keep the public in the loop.

Feel free to repost this

Jonathan McDowell

"Why has there been no issuance of status reports on DART..."

Because when you hear "low budget" it really does mean low budget, very low, like so low that there is no-one to write a release...When are we every going to learn that these low budget missions more often turn into low budget screw ups.

Reason you don't see anything posted on the MSFC website about the DART mission is because we're all too busy running ISO exercises, changing our IT passwords every 15 days (mind you that 99.9% of us have no sensitive material to secure, other than an occasional porno jpg which can sometimes be found on a supervisors computer (ref. a current disciplinary action)) or doing some other useless "work" while we continue to charge to the
"TRANSITIONAL WORKFORCE " charge code. Transitional workforce is a
buzzword management uses for the 30% of us that they can't figure out what to do with, even though popular opinion says we're going to the Moon and Mars any day now.

NAME WITHHELD BY REQUEST

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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK

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