NASA's Juno, Armored Tank Heading For Jupiter

coondoggie writes "When it comes to ensuring that its upcoming Juno spacecraft can survive its mission, NASA is surrounding the spacecraft's electronic innards with titanium to ward off mission-threatening radiation. Juno's so-called radiation vault weighs about 200 kilograms (500 pounds), has walls that measure about a square meter (nearly 9 square feet) in area, about 1 centimeter (a third of an inch) in thickness, and 18 kilograms (40 pounds) in mass. About the size of an SUV's trunk — encloses Juno's command and data handling box, power and data distribution unit and about 20 other electronic assemblies, according to NASA."

Let the fat jokes commence

[Widowwolf]

It's not fat, It's thick plated!

shiny

[Anonymous Coward]

But if you hold it the wrong way it blocks the antenna

Couldn't get past the headline...

[vlueboy]

it is just screaming for a pewpewpew tag!

Re:Unit conversions

[chill]

Close enough for government work.

aka

"Mars Polar Lander"

Re:Unit conversions

[MyLongNickName]

So one square meter isn't a square with 1 meter sides?

Re:Unit conversions

[Anonymous Coward]

1 square meter is the same as a square with sides measuring 1 meter. 10.8 square feet is the same as a square with sides measuring 10.8 feet. 1 meter != 10.8 feet. Think about it.

Re:Unit conversions

[Anonymous Coward]

What has become of this world, when a consortium of Slashdotters can't convert 1 sq m to sq ft? No wonder I didn't drive to work today in the flying car I was promised 50 years ago.

Re:Unit conversions

[Meriahven]

[in American English] "3 feet square" refers to an area 3 ft. x 3 ft

I'm no expert in your language on that side of the big wet thing, but in Finglish the phrase would be "3 foot square", modulo hyphens. Which just further proves your point about the construction being annoying, I guess :-)

This is America!

[riskeetee]

SUV's don't have trunks!

What, expecting a metric system rant?

Re:Unit conversions

[PopeRatzo]

A square with 3 foot sides has an area of ( 3 foot x 3 foot ) = 9 square feet. Draw it on a sheet of paper and it will become more apparent. You example is unique in that 1 squared is 1.

Nobody told us there was going to be math.

Is it too late for me to drop this class and take Poly Sci instead?

Re:Unit conversions

[H0p313ss]

So one square meter isn't a square with 1 meter sides?

It is, but two square meters is not a square with 2 meter sides. :)

He he... I'm suddenly reminded of having to teach my wife how fractions actually work. (They are just unresolved division solutions with useful properties...)

There are times in life when I wish I could just forget math and be a Joe Sixpack. Am I the only one who has to resist the temptation to teach cashiers how to optimize change giving to involve the least number of coins?

Re:Unit conversions

[Anonymous Coward]

Am I the only one who has to resist the temptation to teach cashiers how to optimize change giving to involve the least number of coins?

Optimizing by least number of coins is a sub-optimal solution, at least in terms of comfort/convenience. You really want to minimize the total coin mass in your wallet, including the weight of the coins that were there before the transaction.

Re:Unit conversions

[PagosaSam]

Jesus boys and girls! I had to go back reread the summary to remember what the topic was! Hint: it's not metric/english conversion.

Re:Let the fat jokes commence

[StikyPad]

Your satellite's so fat, they had to launch the earth off of it.