2010-03-09

Opportunity Sol 399 (Spirit Sol 420)

Yestersol's drive seems to have ended more or less where we meant it, about 35m from Vostok. But we have a goal error.

While Frank deals with the SOWG, I look into why we got the error. It turns out we didn't leave quite enough time for the worst-case end-of-drive housekeeping, and the worst case occurred yestersol. We timed out at the very, very, very end of the drive, a few seconds before we finished turning for comm. Literally another couple of seconds would have made the difference.

Oh, well. We're where we meant to be, and facing the right way, with only a little bit of egg on our faces. Thisol's drive is so simple that Frank effectively has it finished before the SOWG meeting ends: turn to 150deg and drive about 35m to Vostok, and that's about it. If it goes how it's supposed to, we'll end up with Vostok right under our wheels. If it goes the way the other recent drives have gone -- hell, we'll probably end up in the Pacific Ocean.

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