From: "Rich Gauszka" 


"Robert Comer"  wrote in
message news:cn0223l29ft2m90kr6cnfghuvumie9jnqu{at}4ax.com...
> Totally crazy, if it's by design it should come up with a message
> saying "Corrupt document" and refuse to load it, rather than crash
> without explanation.
>
> I agree it's not a DoS or vulnerability, but it is bad code with no
> excuse.
>
> --
> Bob Comer
>
>
> On Sat, 14 Apr 2007 09:48:09 -0400, mike  wrote:
>
>>
>>http://www.computerpartner.nl/article.php?news=int&id=5003
>>

bad code really sucks at times

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/science/space/14mars.html
Although it circled Mars longer than any other spacecraft, the Mars Global
Surveyor did not die a death of old age last November, a review board
assembled by NASA announced yesterday.

Instead, an errant computer command five months earlier had been placed in
the wrong location of the computer memory for the spacecraft. That, in
effect, implanted a fatal defect in the spacecraft, disabling a safety
feature to prevent the solar panels from rotating too far and mangling its
ability to communicate with Earth in case of a mishap.

Last Nov. 2, a run-of-the-mill command to the Global Surveyor set off the
latent time bomb. Because the safety feature had been disabled, the solar
panels rotated as far as they could, causing the spacecraft to
"think" erroneously that the panels had jammed.

In its last 13-minute contact, the Global Surveyor reported numerous alarms
to mission controllers but gave no indication that it was in immediate
danger.

As the spacecraft tried to recover, it ended up in an orientation such that
the Sun was shining directly on a battery, causing it to overheat. The
Global Surveyor misinterpreted that signal, sensing that it had overcharged
the battery and stopped charging its other battery, as well.

Meanwhile, because the June error caused the craft's antenna to point in
the wrong direction, mission controllers on Earth could not get in touch
with the craft again.

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