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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 26th, 2023

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  • Yes, that’s the short of it. Each pixel needs its own wires, readout, and processing chain, and resources are limited on the spacecraft. The cryostat (instrument that keeps the pixels cold) only has so much cooling capacity and all the wires add thermal load.

    Future missions are planned with more pixels (Take a look at the EASA Athena mission and its X-IFU instrument), and to reach that goal they are using multiplexing methods to allow more pixels to run on fewer wires.









  • I’d argue the current punitive system makes it more likely you will be flying “with a pilot who’s suffering from mental health issues” that are hidden instead of treated. The problems exist now, they’re just buried and ignored instead of addressed. I also think it’s harmful to treat it so black and white, that either a person is “normal” or “mentally ill” with no grades or ability to be treated. Reform is possible, I think, by allowing disclosure and treatment of issues up front while continuing to operate at some level (maybe under supervision), instead of waiting years without being able to work while paying out of pocket for five figures-worth of tests. Even just streamlining the review and approval or denial to weeks instead of months or years would be a start.