#Dark Technology

[catchymemes]

[nasa]

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s flight harness is transferred from the mock-up structure to the spacecraft flight structure.

Your Body is Wired Like a NASA Space Telescope. Sort Of.

If our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope were alive, its nervous system would be the intricate wiring, or “harness,” that helps different parts of the observatory communicate with one another. Just like the human body sends information through nerves to function, Roman will send commands through this special harness to help achieve its mission: answering longstanding questions about dark energy, dark matter, and exoplanets, among other mind-bending cosmic queries. 

Roman’s harness weighs around 1,000 pounds and is made of about 32,000 wires and 900 connectors. If those parts were laid out end-to-end, they would be 45 miles long from start to finish. Coincidentally, the human body’s nerves would span the same distance if lined up. That’s far enough to reach nearly three-fourths of the way to space, twice as far as a marathon, or eight times taller than Mount Everest! 

An aerial view of the harness technicians working to secure Roman’s harness to the spacecraft flight structure.

Over a span of two years, 11 technicians spent time at the workbench and perched on ladders, cutting wire to length, carefully cleaning each component, and repeatedly connecting everything together.  

Space is usually freezing cold, but spacecraft that are in direct sunlight can get incredibly hot. Roman’s harness went through the Space Environment Simulator – a massive thermal vacuum chamber – to expose the components to the temperatures they’ll experience in space. Technicians “baked” vapors out of the harness to make sure they won’t cause problems later in orbit.  

Technicians work to secure Roman’s harness to the interior of the spacecraft flight structure. They are standing in the portion of the spacecraft bus where the propellant tanks will be mounted.  

The next step is for engineers to weave the harness through the flight structure in Goddard’s big clean room, a space almost perfectly free of dust and other particles. This process will be ongoing until most of the spacecraft components are assembled. The Roman Space Telescope is set to launch by May 2027. 

Learn more about the exciting science this mission will investigate on X and Facebook. 

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space! 

[zadokthepriest]

by Byron Hernandez

[yodaprod]

I now have 2 computers based on 486 processor and what's interesting is that they are at opposite ends of the 486 line up. On the left, a 486DX25 from 1989. The second is a 486DX4-100 from 1994, a high end version before the complete switch to Pentium. They are perfect for enjoying DOS games from the first half of the 90s before the release of Windows 95

[heybrandish]

I hate being accessible. I’ll turn off my phone and open the window to the rainy evening, light some incense and be without demands

[tygerland]

The International Space Station was passing over South Africa when this image of the Earth was captured by French astronaut Thomas Pesquet, 5 September 2021. The orange band is made up of sodium atoms left behind by meteors entering our planet's atmosphere.

[mad-girlslove-song]

the shittiest human art will always be leagues better than the best ai "art". a child's finger paintings and macaroni crafts will always be better than a computer's subpar attempt at recreating the starry night. your stick figures and smiley faces will always surpass an algorithm's bastardized boticelli painting. the most mediocre hallmark movie will always be better than whatever bullshit sora churns out. the most cringeworthy "i'm 14 and this is deep" notes app poetry will always be better than whatever chatgpt can come up with. always

[copia]

endless ghifs 5/? ⛧ source — "The Cardinal is our next senior-most member. He's been your right-hand man."

[charliejaneanders]

Platforms likely conflate positioning with popularity, failing to see the self-fulfilling prophecy of an algorithm making stuff popular because said stuff is built to please the algorithm creating more demand for content to please the algorithm. "Viral" content is no longer a result of lots of people deciding that they find something interesting.

Are We Watching The Internet Die?

[daily-spooky]

[xaoca]

[catchymemes]

[technicallyclassyperfection]

[gottastim]

strawberryjam1986 on ig

[s-lycopersicum]