Voyager 1

[Cornholio]

Now for the inevitable, predictable Douglas Adams quote:

“Space is big.

You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is.

I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

[kace]

It amazes me just how they're still in contact with them, it takes nearly a day for the signal to travel the 15 billion miles. But I can't get a signal on my sky box from isleworth if the weather is a bit off

Just incredible.

[Mr Curta]

Now for the inevitable, predictable Monty Python clip:

[PickleB]

Another good watch.

Just watching "NASA's Voyager Mission:Remastered.

On you tube...2hrs 45mins

Thanks for the pointer...well worth a watch.

Mostly 1960s technology. Likewise, you could probably instruct the owner to repair his Series 2 over the phone

The above told me that the Voyager digital data tape recorder is driven by a rubber belt and uses 328 m of 1/2 inch 8 track tape, capable of holding 67 Mb data at launch. The total power available to the craft was 470 W at launch and that too degrades over time.

[Filterlab]

It's 67MB, or 536Mb.

[PickleB]

It's 67MB, or 536Mb.

And it's been that way since 2002. That's something I had not realised, thank you.

[Filterlab]

And it's been that way since 2002. That's something I had not realised, thank you.

Whichever way one cuts it, it's a magnificent piece of engineering bearing in mind that an average PC is pretty much unusable garbage after a hand full of years.

The fact that NASA can communicate with it over millions and millions of miles is amazing frankly, bearing in mind my mesh system doesn't even reach the en-suite.

[PickleB]

Whichever way one cuts it, it's a magnificent piece of engineering bearing in mind that an average PC is pretty much unusable garbage after a hand full of years.

The fact that NASA can communicate with it over millions and millions of miles is amazing frankly, bearing in mind my mesh system doesn't even reach the en-suite.

I agree.

That digital communications over such a distance is a) possible b) still effective in controlling Voyager is a marvel (IMO).

That the onboard computer can still be reprogrammed by those communications is somewhat astonishing. That there are digital to analogue converters onboard that can translate the messages to electromechanical devices to steer antennae etc stands as a monument to the depth of forethought and planning applied by the designers and constructors.