Voyager 1 Please Call Home

[3point14]

Every time I read another thing about the design and operation of these machines (1 & 2) I am overwhelmed by the engineering and the foresight of the people that built them.

 

[xterra]

NASA says that Voyager 1 is 24.80 billion km from earth, and that the current strength of its signal is -160 dBm
(1.0 x 10-22 kW).

Edited to add that data rate is 40 bits/second.

 

[Mr Clingford]

I like that you can now say that Vger is about a light day away.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Meanwhile, Pioneer 10 hangs on . . . just barely.

NASA Establishes Contact with Famed Pioneer 10 Spacecraft - NASA Science

NASA scientists have announced that they have contacted Pioneer 10, the plucky small spacecraft launched 29 years ago, ending speculation that its signal had finally fallen silent.

science.nasa.gov

 

[sphenisc]

Meanwhile, Pioneer 10 hangs on . . . just barely.

NASA Establishes Contact with Famed Pioneer 10 Spacecraft - NASA Science

NASA scientists have announced that they have contacted Pioneer 10, the plucky small spacecraft launched 29 years ago, ending speculation that its signal had finally fallen silent.

science.nasa.gov

It went silent 20+ years ago.

 

[shemp]

Meanwhile, Pioneer 10 hangs on . . . just barely.

NASA Establishes Contact with Famed Pioneer 10 Spacecraft - NASA Science

NASA scientists have announced that they have contacted Pioneer 10, the plucky small spacecraft launched 29 years ago, ending speculation that its signal had finally fallen silent.

science.nasa.gov

That article is from 2001.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

That article is from 2001.

Gosh oh Golly you are correct. I wonder why the inner workings of the Internet suddenly decided it was relevant to me now?

Here's what I got:

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Per: https://universemagazine.com/en/beyond-the-stars-five-of-the-most-distant-spacecraft/

Jupiter’s gravity accelerated Pioneer 10 to the third space velocity, allowing it to leave the Solar System forever. Thanks to the radioisotope power source, Pioneer 10 maintained communication with Earth until the beginning of the 21st century. The last telemetry from the spacecraft was received on April 27, 2002, and the last weak radio signal was received on January 23, 2003. And this is despite the fact that Pioneer 10 was designed for a nominal lifetime of only 21 months!

So it lasted a little bit longer.

 

[Darat]

One thing I know I often overlook when thinking and talking about the likes of Voyager is how astonishing it is that we can receive and understand such faint transmissions. Voyager's transmitter is 23 watts, to compare it to a modern day device our mobile phones peak at about 2 to 3 watts. I just went and searched and found that means the signal we are recieving from Voyager is a billonth of a billionth of a watt, that is apparently called an attowatt.

 

[rjh01]

One thing I know I often overlook when thinking and talking about the likes of Voyager is how astonishing it is that we can receive and understand such faint transmissions. Voyager's transmitter is 23 watts, to compare it to a modern day device our mobile phones peak at about 2 to 3 watts. I just went and searched and found that means the signal we are recieving from Voyager is a billonth of a billionth of a watt, that is apparently called an attowatt.

To listen to Voyager you need a large radio telescope. The likes of you and me would have no chance of picking up the signal.

 

[Ryan O'Dine]

Per: https://universemagazine.com/en/beyond-the-stars-five-of-the-most-distant-spacecraft/



So it lasted a little bit longer.

"Jupiter’s gravity accelerated Pioneer 10 to the third space velocity"

I'm deeply enamored of that phrase. It's straight out of a campy 50's sci-fi flick.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

"Jupiter’s gravity accelerated Pioneer 10 to the third space velocity"

I'm deeply enamored of that phrase. It's straight out of a campy 50's sci-fi flick.

A four-speed transmission? Plus Reverse and Neutral.

 

[Ryan O'Dine]

Heh, I looked it up. You all probably know this, but the first space or "cosmic" velocity gets you into orbit. The second gets you out of a body's gravity well, and the third gets you out of the solar system. I assume the fourth allows you to escape Deedle from planet Blarnac chasing you with a jimjim ray.

 

[arthwollipot]

To listen to Voyager you need a large radio telescope. The likes of you and me would have no chance of picking up the signal.

One of those still listening, I believe, is about 40 minutes drive from my place.

 

[Norman Alexander]

One of those still listening, I believe, is about 40 minutes drive from my place.

Tidbinbilla?

 

[xterra]

Tidbinbilla?

Yes. Google Maps shows it at -35.4027062352031, 148.98370888366347

Also, see https://www.cdscc.nasa.gov/

 

[arthwollipot]

Tidbinbilla?

Indeed.


100_7178 by Andrew Gould, on Flickr

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Still chugging along and setting records!

Site is undergoing maintenance

Site will be available soon. Thank you for your patience!

www.elcabildo.org

NASA’s Voyager spacecraft set to make history in November 2026 as the first object to travel a light-day from Earth

 

[Susheel]

What other pieces of electrical equipment have been working since the 1970s, without maintenance? Not much. That shows how wonderful this spacecraft is.

I don't know...NASA has been pretty consistent in stretching the life of their instruments far beyond what was originally intended...

 

[3point14]

I don't know...NASA has been pretty consistent in stretching the life of their instruments far beyond what was originally intended...

Indeed. Although I suspect they do a bit of a Scotty on it. Build it to last 10 years and confidently tell the world it'll last five.