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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 transmitt

• 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