Comments on: Engineers determine failed gyroscope caused Gehrels-Swift shutdown https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/engineers-determine-failed-gyroscope-causes-gehrels-swift-shutdown/ Sat, 05 Feb 2022 04:30:13 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: George C https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/engineers-determine-failed-gyroscope-causes-gehrels-swift-shutdown/#comment-1283026 Sat, 05 Feb 2022 04:30:13 +0000 https://behindtheblack.com/?p=82383#comment-1283026 I think in your headline you meant to say reaction wheel, not gyroscope. Confusing because those wheels do have a side effect of exhibiting the gyroscopic effect; they primarily function as reaction wheels, as an engineering function. The inertial navigation system might have things an engineer would call a gyroscope.

I am not saying that a reaction wheel is not
a gyroscope of course since it clearly is, but its role in the momentum dynamics is the dominant engineering role, and reaction wheel describes that better.

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