41–50 of 326 posts
Were unit tests a thing back when the probes were built? I wonder how new engineers learn about the intricacies of such ancient tech, without breaking them.
They likely have a 'test article' though. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_article_(aerospace)
I hope this update doesn't come with ads and data collection to "improve my experience"
This is incredible. Not just because of the engineering that went into such a long lived machine, but also because of the ingenuity of the teams that have looked after this mission and those currently working on it. Half a century of operation. Bits of data, like gold dust, peppering our radio telescopes with telemetry from the edges of our protective solar shell, and beyond. Not only is the technical achievement som…
Only the _documentation_ effort must be monumental.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I highly doubt an amateur has the means to contact the probes. Heck, I'm not even sure any organization besides NASA has antennas big enough for the job.
You don't think a modified DirecTV antenna will do it?
I'm not a RF engineer, but it's a fair guess that synthesizing the signal isn't going to be the problem, having the probes receiving it is another story.
Another point of reference is the heliosphere, at 100AU. 1AU (earth to Sun) is 93M miles, so the heliosphere is around 2.5 Plutos away.
I was feeling so low today that I just switched to HN to tune things off of my mind, saw this headline and right off the bat, am in a better mood.
What an incredible feat of engineering !