Duct Tape Culture Comes To Space

5:03 pm EST October 16th, 2007 | News | 2 Comments

In space, you’ve got to get ‘er done.

In June, the International Space Station faced some computer problems of its own, made all the more puzzling because that system was designed to be triply redundant. The problem was an unprecedented failure, and being forced to abandon the station — at least temporarily — was not out of the question. (Neither was the possibility that Americans were to blame.)

But the crisis was solved by a tool that has long saved humanity one jolt at a time: jumper cables. An article just published in IEEE Spectrum, the professional journal of electric engineering, says that the cables “were exactly what really was needed.”

No, you should not try this at home.

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2 Responses to “Duct Tape Culture Comes To Space”

  1. Quaker in a Basement says:
    October 16, 2007 at 8:46 pm

    Wait a minute! Why did they have jumper cables on the space station in the first place? If they need a jump start, who are they going to hook up to?

  2. duros62 says:
    October 17, 2007 at 12:09 pm

    That was my first question. Who had the temerity to think “Hey, I’m packing these jumper cables. Y’know, just in case.”

    Those Soyuz escape capsules are notorious for their bad starters.