11–20 of 121 posts
"The probe launched on August 20th 1977, but is still just seventeen light-hours away" 43 years for 0.00194 light years... makes me feel :( huh ... and nearest star Proxima Centauri is 4.2441 light years away ... :/
I don't think the Register's headline is very accurate. The probe itself remained online, and there was plenty of radio communication happening during that period; it was just one-way, from Voyager 2 to Earth. From NASA's press release: > The call to Voyager 2 was a test of new hardware recently installed on Deep Space Station 43, the only dish in the world that can send commands to Voyager 2. ... Since the dish went…
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24826155
Dave Jones made a coupe of videos about the Deep Space Station in Canberra.
"The probe launched on August 20th 1977, but is still just seventeen light-hours away" 43 years for 0.00194 light years... makes me feel :( huh ... and nearest star Proxima Centauri is 4.2441 light years away ... :/
Interstellar travel, unless there's a revolution in propulsion, is unlikely to happen I think. I'm sure that at some point they'll send up another probe with more fuel to go out faster, but it's not going to be revolutionary.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propu...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interstellar travel, unless there's a revolution in propulsion, is unlikely to happen I think. I'm sure that at some point they'll send up another probe with more fuel to go out faster, but it's not going to be revolutionary.
The tech has existed at least theoretically since the 60s but nobody is willing to use it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propu...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interstellar travel, unless there's a revolution in propulsion, is unlikely to happen I think. I'm sure that at some point they'll send up another probe with more fuel to go out faster, but it's not going to be revolutionary.
The tech has existed at least theoretically since the 60s but nobody is willing to use it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propu...
An older tour discussing how to contact Voyager 2 he gave at https://www.eevblog.com/2017/04/19/how-to-contact-the-voyage...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The tech has existed at least theoretically since the 60s but nobody is willing to use it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Orion_(nuclear_propu...
Check out Hardtack Teak. It was an exo-atmospheric nuclear test above Johnston Atoll. The blast was visible from Honolulu and a large glowing red cloud drifted over the island chain all the way from Johnston Atoll. There are areas of the zone underneath the explosion which are still hot to this day. And that was just one of the tests that went right. There were plenty of failures too, both in atmosphere and on the la…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I found out that usually happens when you have some constraints. The more constraints the more clever ways people find to achieve their goal.
It makes me think of the demoscene, that is doing things like getting 3D graphics on the Commodore or whatever it was.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Check out Hardtack Teak. It was an exo-atmospheric nuclear test above Johnston Atoll. The blast was visible from Honolulu and a large glowing red cloud drifted over the island chain all the way from Johnston Atoll. There are areas of the zone underneath the explosion which are still hot to this day. And that was just one of the tests that went right. There were plenty of failures too, both in atmosphere and on the la…
Well, you don't necessarily need to launch from Earth - starting an Orion mission from say high lunar orbit should be perfectly safe.
Another interesting idea is to propel micro crafts with lasers. I think there was an article on HN about that.
I was just reading the pale blue dot and he mentions that Voyager 2’s scan platform jammed after its encounter with Saturn. Voyager 2 emerged from behind Saturn (as seen from the Earth) in August 1981. The scan platform had been moving feverishly—pointing here and there among the rings, moons, and the planet itself during the all-too-brief moments of close approach. Suddenly, the platform jammed. A stuck scan platfor…
I found out that usually happens when you have some constraints. The more constraints the more clever ways people find to achieve their goal.