3 ms·

So basically exceeding the transmitter's normal operating range in hopes that Voyager 2 can hear it somehow. I'm guessing that between possibly destroying that

So basically exceeding the transmitter's normal operating range in hopes that Voyager 2 can hear it somehow. I'm guessing that between possibly destroying that transmitter (and having an expensive repair/rebuilding bill) and never hearing V2 again they've chose the first option. It honestly puts me in doubt on the chances that the self-realignment will work despite knowing that NASA have tested than mechanism more than what would a normal manufacturer have done.

bonzini 3y ago
The probe would have reoriented itself towards the Earth in October, it does so twice a year. It seems that they just used a different, more powerful transmitter than usual.
- tivert 3y ago
  > The probe would have reoriented itself towards the Earth in October, it does so twice a year. I know that's what they say, but does anyone have any more details about that, too? It's hard for me to reconcile the idea that the probe can automatically re-orient itself with the idea that it somehow got accidentally pointed in the wrong direction. You'd think they'd end every set of commands with instructions to check orientation and fix it if it's wrong.
  - albert_e 3y ago
    yes this is indeed how the probe was designed - hats off to the foresight. there are recalibrations every few months to make sure the antenna is pointed at the earth. video explanation of how it works- pretty ingenious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbsHgE89qO4&t=340s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbsHgE89qO4&t=340s
kens 3y ago
Do you have any reason at all to think they damaged the transmitter?
somat 3y ago
I don't think anything is being exceeded. I have no idea of the actual numbers. but the calculation is something like. using the 100 meter dish we need to transmit at 30 kilowatts to make sure the signal can be received by voyeger2. voyeger2 high gain is 2 degrees off, (do some black magic RF math) we need to transmit at 60 kilowatts to make sure the signal is received. good thing this transmitter is capable of 5 megawatts of radiative power. Now I just made up those numbers. but the cool thing about nasa is how open they are. both when things go wrong "whoops we misaligned voyeger 2" and with specs, it probably won't take me long at all to find actual numbers. update: Found this page which is pretty cool. https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html

bonzini 3y ago

The probe would have reoriented itself towards the Earth in October, it does so twice a year. It seems that they just used a different, more powerful transmitter than usual.

tivert 3y ago
> The probe would have reoriented itself towards the Earth in October, it does so twice a year. I know that's what they say, but does anyone have any more details about that, too? It's hard for me to reconcile the idea that the probe can automatically re-orient itself with the idea that it somehow got accidentally pointed in the wrong direction. You'd think they'd end every set of commands with instructions to check orientation and fix it if it's wrong.
- albert_e 3y ago
  yes this is indeed how the probe was designed - hats off to the foresight. there are recalibrations every few months to make sure the antenna is pointed at the earth. video explanation of how it works- pretty ingenious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbsHgE89qO4&t=340s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbsHgE89qO4&t=340s

kens 3y ago

Do you have any reason at all to think they damaged the transmitter?

somat 3y ago

I don't think anything is being exceeded. I have no idea of the actual numbers. but the calculation is something like. using the 100 meter dish we need to transmit at 30 kilowatts to make sure the signal can be received by voyeger2. voyeger2 high gain is 2 degrees off, (do some black magic RF math) we need to transmit at 60 kilowatts to make sure the signal is received. good thing this transmitter is capable of 5 megawatts of radiative power. Now I just made up those numbers. but the cool thing about nasa is how open they are. both when things go wrong "whoops we misaligned voyeger 2" and with specs, it probably won't take me long at all to find actual numbers. update: Found this page which is pretty cool. https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html https://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html