Quote:
Originally Posted by jammies
While the game controller thing is damn funny, there is a case to be made for using off-the-shelf parts for systems that do not require innovative tech. Would a custom controller built specifically for this sub have been safer? It's not like the controller is very big, you bring a couple of (previously tested) backups with you, and if it fails, you use one of those. Same with the ballast, being compact and heavy is 99% of the design spec, custom machining it out of unobtanium is overkill.
If the hull failed, which seems the most likely scenario, the design of the other parts is irrelevant. That part is the one that should have been overengineered to withstand 1.5 or 2 times the pressure it was intended to operate under, and what should have been tested with various unmanned prototypes hundreds of times before sending anyone down.
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You're so right. Not to be a nerd, but I just finished Andy Weir's newest book (he's the dude who wrote The Martian), Hail Mary or Project Hail Mary or something, and it goes into a lot of detail that had me convinced off the shelf stuff for these kinds of projects is the smartest way to go.