Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!unmvax!polyslo!jmckerna
From: jmckerna@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John McKernan)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Soviet Phobos II probe fails just before final approach to moon
Message-ID: <9914@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU>
Date: 2 Apr 89 09:51:03 GMT
References: <8904010551.AA16140@ll-vlsi.arpa> <13665@jumbo.dec.com>
Reply-To: jmckerna@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John McKernan)
Organization: Cal Poly State University -- San Luis Obispo
Lines: 12

Friday's LA Times had some interesting speculation as to the underlying causes
of the problems with the Phobos probes. They said the probes were the first of a
new type manufactured by a government contractor independent of the scientists
at the "Soviet Space Research Institute". The Times said that these basic probes
(to which the various experiments and other unique hardware are added)
have poor communication and computer facilities, and little redundancy, and
that they are the cause of the phobos problems. Appearantly the USA is not the
only country which has problems with lowest bid hardware from independent
government contractors.

John L. McKernan.                    Student, Computer Science, Cal Poly S.L.O.
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