Louise PryorAug 3, 2023
Jan Stępień
You know what’s software engineering? Regaining control over a computer 20 billion kilometers away thanks to the design decisions made 50 years prior. #voyager2
Aug 2, 2023 at 7:57amMastodon for iOS
Show threadMattias WadmanAug 2, 2023
@jstepien recommended watching:
It's Quieter in the Twilight https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17658964/
The Farthest https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6223974/
#voyager #documentary
It's Quieter in the Twilight (2022) ⭐ 7.9 | Documentary

1h 23m

IMDb
Show threadJack RusherAug 2, 2023
@jstepien to L last night: “because they did actual engineering”
Show threadStephen Cox AuthorAug 2, 2023
@jstepien If a toaster lasts four years we're impressed now
Show threadtyilAug 3, 2023
@stephenwhq @jstepien And that's considered a long time by most people. It is common for regular people to consider a laptop to reach the end of its lifespan after about 2 years, 3 years usually if its a "corporate" laptop. Phones are terrible in this regard too.
Show threadrhempelAug 2, 2023
@jstepien - that's systems engineering - an entire cross functional team dedicated to doing it right because you can't do it over.
Show threadhörbAug 2, 2023
@jstepien Software Engineering: it's Programming over Time, but also Programming over The Vast Expanse of Space.
Show threadCat WestAug 2, 2023
@jstepien They got it right side up now? Whew!
Show threadPeter SullivanAug 2, 2023
@jstepien Yep. I mean, it's not like you can just send an intern on the bus to the remote site to press ALT-CTRL-DEL, is it? Come to that, back in 1977, CTRL-ALT-DEL wasn't even a thing.
Show threadAmbigram ArtAug 2, 2023

@jstepien

Did they use imperial or metric?

Show threadgavinisdie Aug 2, 2023
@Ambigramart @jstepien Pretty sure they used Metric
Show threadvascorsdAug 3, 2023
@Ambigramart @jstepien yes.
Show threadAmbigram ArtAug 3, 2023

@vascorsd @jstepien

I've just found out they used a measurement system of Grotes.

Show threadvascorsdAug 3, 2023
@Ambigramart @jstepien :o 
Show threadLeRocAug 2, 2023
@jstepien I read somewhere that it's a computer program of around 70 kB that managed to do this?
Show threadKendall SeaburyAug 2, 2023
@leroc @jstepien and it uses tape!
Show threadNico Aug 2, 2023
@jstepien imagine if the software was conceived by a modern days tech bro
Show threadCraigerAzAug 2, 2023
@jstepien Probably a COBOL guy!
Show threadRhaedasAug 2, 2023
@jstepien On the backup radio receiver too. Always have redundancy.
Show threadJulesceltAug 2, 2023

@jstepien I swear these NASA folks should be the one's doing everyone's programming...

And they're the most patient people. Waiting 37 hours or 2.5 months to find out if they can still talk to Voyager2.

Show threadJuan HuitzAug 3, 2023
@julescelt01 @jstepien How the hell do they “talk” of signal it? Am assuming it isn’t 5G.
Show threadMaybeMyMonkeysAug 2, 2023
@jstepien concepts that we barely use today: self healing, self correcting, redundancy.
Show threadStephanAug 3, 2023
@MaybeMyMonkeys @jstepien self-healing today (in cloud environments) consists of automatically starting a new container whenever one fails, and you have redundancy in the form of multiple parallel ideally stateless containers
Show threadJason DidnerAug 2, 2023

@jstepien @canayjun

Not something that happens by wingin’ it.

Show threadAdamas NemesisAug 2, 2023
@jstepien Rather impressive when you think about it.
Show threadBlake 🇵🇸Aug 2, 2023
@jstepien you seem to have misunderstood. that's "good engineering". "software engineering" is something entirely different.
Show threadJustin BuistAug 2, 2023

@blake @jstepien I'm a developer and I chuckled at that.

Born in 1980 myself, but I sure do appreciate these earlier works and marvel at the Voyagers reliability. I can't believe we can still sling photons back and forth with it.

Show thread3ln4ch0Aug 2, 2023
@justinbuist @blake @jstepien but but, the disruptors, move fast and break stuff, rapid iteration etc etc
Show threadJoris MeysAug 2, 2023
@jstepien something tells me that if it were launched today, it would be lost...
Show threadBart Champagne ON6BC Aug 3, 2023
@JorisMeys @jstepien Mars Climate Orbiter comes to mind 🙂
Show threadArmin HanischAug 2, 2023
@jstepien it’s less „regaining control“ IMHO than the genius of the engineers 50 years ago who included periodic realignment maneuvers for Voyager 2.
Show threadBob Blaskiewicz 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 🇬🇱Aug 2, 2023
@jstepien Those engineers are rock stars.
Show threadBakersRelayAug 2, 2023
@jstepien Indeed.
Show threadColin HaynesAug 2, 2023
@jstepien the power of non functional requirements.
Show threadCHBAug 2, 2023
@jstepien That is truly amazing engineering on so many different levels!
Show threadThe Evil MicrowizardAug 2, 2023
@jstepien Do we have control over it again? I thought we'd just picked up the equivalent of its "dial tone"...?
Show threadDave AlvaradoAug 2, 2023
@jstepien it would be better software engineering to not let the ground controller screw up and point the radio away from Earth, but sure I guess that's a take too.
Show threadKay Ohtie 🔜 FWAAug 2, 2023
@jstepien wait did they get control back? The most recent I'd seen was they heard a heartbeat signal but wouldn't be able to control it again probably until October when it resets its own antenna. That's awesome if they did get control!
Show threadDaniel Schwarz Aug 3, 2023
@KayOhtie @jstepien You are correct. This whole thread is premature. An early self correction by Voyager 2 (in the 70s) failed when the spacecraft fixed on an incorrect star to get its bearings. Presumably that bug has been fixed by now?
Show threadJdeBPAug 3, 2023

@KayOhtie @jstepien

They didn't get control back. The spacecraft still cannot hear us. But we can hear the spacecraft.

#Voyager2 #astronomy

Show threadSpaceLifeFormAug 2, 2023

@jstepien

Even the speed of light is not that fast.

Show threadThird spruce tree on the leftAug 2, 2023

@jstepien Hah. As a comp eng. I think that was a brilliant system-design decision myself, not sw. eng mastery.

"Assume that the software wonks will eventually fck things up and send it a command that inadvertently borks itself. How can we have the hardware independently check an independent condition and reorient the radio dish?"

If sw. eng was on point they never would have been able to send it a command to bork itself.

My $0.02.

Show threadHTPC NZAug 3, 2023
@jstepien but this so called dinosaur software engineering approach doesn't fit the model of move fast, break/fail fast tech bro approach. It is sad to see that prominent online personalities in other engineering disciplines that millions of lives daily depend on admires & want to adopt tech bro approach cause they probably want a slice of that sweet sweet VC cash that other conmen have used to get super rich.
Show threadShredAug 3, 2023
@jstepien They say a good engineer is looking in both directions before crossing a one-way street.
Show threadJohn TurnerAug 3, 2023
@jstepien A lot of the replies are pointing out how much better the resilience engineering is to modern software accessed over the internet—and it certainly is—but to me it’s a story of incentives as much as anything else. Resilient software costs more to build, to the point where someone incentivized to only look at next quarters margins isn’t going to want to pay for it if the other option is to get a hot fix out quickly if something breaks.
Show threadShephallmassiveAug 3, 2023
@jstepien when Olympus UK built comms satellite lost control, there was ops error in the mix, but software was so mistrusted due to its recent addition -it was switched off. Then b/c sat was tumbling only got partial comms as it lost power when falling away from the sun. Engineers asked to try & save it, They used an aircraft hanger to look at the printout to work out when to send commands. Sat was frozen so needed to heat it up. Multiple #engineering functions involved in rescue
Show threadJari GustafssonAug 3, 2023

@jstepien

Melons "i will put people on mars"
is not gonna end well with his running & pissing at the same time tactic.

Show threadBenjamin Kwiecień 🇵🇸Aug 3, 2023
@jstepien pieprzone tak
Show threadAnders StenbergAug 3, 2023
@jstepien "Pff it should just've used BongularV2 over DVE with a Trawolta bridge to the Fleebernebes cluster. Basic stuff really."
Show threadAndrew "Harris/? 2024" GlissonAug 4, 2023
@jstepien Hardcore. I'm always just excited when a minor unanticipated enhancement is easy because I laid good groundwork 5 years ago. I can't imagine what it must be like for them. 50 years!