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[music] by Conway Hambone - Honey Dealer
>> ROBERT: Hi, I'm Robert, Teamleader of the Part-Time Scientists.
Today we are going to do something special.
We are trying to answer your FanFriday question in a video..
FanFriday has become a regular feature with us, where you can ask us questions
which we try to answer once a week,
usually in blogposts.
Here and there we try to go into a bit of detail
that we think may be interesting for you.
So far you seem to like it because we keep getting more questions.
We think that's awesome, and that's why we're making this video.
We have selected 5 of your questions.
How do you see the pros and cons of privatization in the space industry?
At first, what is "privatization in the space industry"?
To me this means offering services like the SpaceX Corporation does.
SpaceX is one of the first vendors in the private space industry
to offer launching a given payload into a particular orbit.
One could approach them with
a one ton satellite with a scientific payload
to be launched into Low Earth Orbit.
This would be a purely commercial transaction
completely independent of governmental services or entanglements.
That means one doesn't need to go to NASA or other governmental space agencies
but instead one can purchase this launch as a bona fide commercial service.
>> KARSTEN: One of the biggest advantages of privatization
is that costs are significantly reduced.
One should consider that
a mission by NASA, ESA, DLR, etc.
has considerable bureaucratic overhead.
They certify things that don't need certification.
A screw will function in space even without certification
if it has been briefly tested.
>> ROBERT: What is one of the drawbacks of privatization of the space industry?
In general, privatization has a bad reputation,
but I am currently not aware of any drawbacks of privatization in the aerospace industry,
because this sector can really use some fresh air.
The only scenario I can conceive is that
it may lead to a single remaining vendor as a monopoly.
In 2000 many warned of this
in regard to Microsoft Corporation,
and one could have similar worries in the space industry.
Right now I think we are far away from that.
To the contrary,
The Google Lunar X Prize brings a certain diversity.
>> KARSTEN: I don't see a real drawback, either.
Of course one has to mind the environmental aspects.
When new missions are constantly launching, the trash may accumulate in orbit,
which will make it very challenging to place more satellites.
One has to watch out that the orbit doesn't become overwhelmed with satellites and trash
or that too much trash is left on the moon.
However, I believe that the benefits of private spaceflight
signficantly outweigh the drawbacks.
Why does your R0 rover use an ARM architecture, and you R2 rover a PowerPC architecture?
>> ROBERT: To clarify: What is an "architecture"?
These are different types of CPUs
and different ways things are calculated and processed.
ARM and PowerPC are 2 completely separate architectures
that each work differently.
One cannot say "My program runs on ARM,
therefore it also runs on PowerPC."
That needs a little porting work.
Our advantage is that our software development happens at the operating system level.
We use an operating system called "QNX",
and this runs on top of the hardware and has drivers for the particular architecture.
Our software works on top of that.
Our developers write their programs in BeagleBoard XM
and these same programs also run on the R2.
It doesn't even need to be adjusted.
>>KARSTEN: On the smaller rover, the R0, we use an ARM processor.
On the R2 we use a bigger platform, the Virtex 5 PowerPC
Why are we doing that?
The first reason we made the R0 is
because not every developer could get an R2.
An R2 costs about 35,000 Euros, an R0 costs 360 Euros.
The reason for the different platforms is again their price.
You can get the BeagleBoard for 180 Euros, the Virtex 5 costs nearly 1000 Euros.
We wanted R0 to be low-cost, so we used an ARM architecture.
The reason this works is because both are running the same operating system.
They both run QNX.
>>ROBERT: You can get a basic R0 kit from us.
But you have to get components like the BeagleBoard separately.
The advantage is that you can then develop your own software for it.
It's in a good price range, quite affordable,
compared to an FPGA, which is quite pricey.
What is your favorite Sci-Fi series and why did it inspire you?
Whenever I hear such questions I think:
people always expect the same answer
Either Star Trek or Star Wars.
But I have to disappoint you.
Babylon 5. That's the series that fascinated me most as a child.
And in some ways I found it to be very inspiring.
>>KARSTEN: My favorite Sci-Fi series is Futurama
That might sound a little strange.
The next question was: How has it inspired you?
I think Professor Farnsworth is really cool, since he is so crazy.
And I have always wanted to become a crazy scientist.
This is why I'm working on my doctorate now.
And once I am a professor, I will just have to go crazy, as well.
and then I can have fun.
>>ROBERT: If the choice is between Star Wars and Star Trek, then I'm a trekkie.
What motivated the Apollo veterans in your team to join up?
I think the answer is very simple.
We are a cool team and open for everyone.
If someone has a good idea to contribute he is welcome to do so in our team.
And the older team members have lots of experience.
and we appreciate that.
If you previously worked for Apollo you know how a mission to the moon works.
What better reference can you have?!
The Apollo veterans saw that we are young and enthusiastic.
And have bigger plans than just going to the moon.
Robert knows more about this for sure.
>>ROBERT: Indeed, we have three former members of the Apollo program in our team
They actually worked on the first landing on the moon, 40 years ago.
And we are really proud that they have decided to contribute to our team's efforts.
The question is, why are they working with us and not with an American team.
It's very hard to answer this question from my point of view.
Which is why I asked Jack Crenshaw personally.
His reason is, that our team is simply the most fun for him.
And I can tell you why.
Our team is a team of scientists and egineers.
All of them people, working on a technical level.
We are not trying to be or become the biggest multi-corporate company in the world.
And sell any particular image to the public.
We are simply engineers, and that is something especially attractive for people like them.
40 years ago it was similar. People had a goal and strived to achieve it with technical means.
That was a true feat of engineering.
Today we are trying to acoomplish the same,but with new technologies.
And this seems to be the basic thing that motivates people like Jack Crenshaw, Chuck Ivie
and Robert Tolson to join our team and work with us.
Any other questions?
That's it. These were the five questions, by and large.
We are always happy to answer further questions.
And if you have questions, simply send us an email.
to q@part-time-scientists.com or an blog@part-time-scientists.com
or just send us a message on facebook.
Thank you very much. Have a nice weekend, and Hell Yeah, it's Rocket Science!
[humming]
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