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> "As a result, it is difficult to attract younger programmers to join the project." Every time I read this quote I have a little bit of a laugh at this and th

by ajxs 2y ago

> "As a result, it is difficult to attract younger programmers to join the project." Every time I read this quote I have a little bit of a laugh at this and think 'Sheesh, I could write 8-bit assembly all day long. Sign me up!'. Do the engineers there really not want to work on Voyager? It's also really unfortunate that Voyager's source code isn't likely to be released to the general public anytime soon: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/voyager-command-analysis-software-source-code-28641/ https://www.muckrock.com/foi/united-states-of-america-10/voy...

p_l 2y ago
Combine this with low pay and perceived (and probably realistic) low advancement options. At some point you start thinking about "yeah, that would be great, but I have mortgage to pay off" and the like.
mek6800d2 2y ago
I too thought this way and I figured there were probably a lot of engineers who were comfortably well-off and would be happy to relocate and work for free on Voyager. However, although there would be great emotional satisfaction working on such a unique project (not as great as in it's heyday though), there would not be an equal amount of intellectual satisfaction. Don't get me wrong--the current Voyager engineers are performing amazing intellectual feats. It's just that the project is nursing along the spacecraft in their final few communicating years as the power levels run out. There is probably very little programming done except to work around failing hardware. Non-emergency concerns probably mainly focus on which remaining subsystems to power down and when. Also, the time frames for operations are really long. I believe some of the current Voyager staff work only part-time on Voyager and younger engineers probably don't want to sit around twiddling their thumbs for a good amount of time while waiting for results. (Neither do older engineers for that matter!) The quote about attracting younger programmers is from Matsumoto's paper; she also gives this account of a 2010 memory problem: "For example, when the V2 experienced a bit flip in the FDS [computer] in 2010, it took about two weeks to recover enough to receive the engineering data, and another two weeks to receive the science data. It took another four and one-half months to adjust the timing delay caused by the anomaly and resynchronize the CCS and FDS clocks. Realigning the baseline events to the regular schedule had to be delayed even longer due to other activities competing for the resources." https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2016-2415 https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2016-2415 (PDF) We've seen a similar situation more recently with recovering from the failed FDS memory block. So, although enthusiasm is important for a Voyager programmer, patience is a virtue!
trollied 2y ago
I love learning new languages, and working on something this incredible would be absolutely amazing. Certainly more worthwhile than modern web dev.
exe34 2y ago
I'm guessing maybe it's the hiring side that wants people who already have $x number of years experience? it reminds me of the guy who wrote angular(?) and wanted to apply for a job but couldn't, because it required 8 years of experience and this was only 5 years after he wrote it.
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qingcharles 2y ago
I've tried to get the source code too, but end up going around in circles between NASA and JPL :(

by ajxs 2y ago

p_l 2y ago

Combine this with low pay and perceived (and probably realistic) low advancement options. At some point you start thinking about "yeah, that would be great, but I have mortgage to pay off" and the like.

mek6800d2 2y ago

I too thought this way and I figured there were probably a lot of engineers who were comfortably well-off and would be happy to relocate and work for free on Voyager. However, although there would be great emotional satisfaction working on such a unique project (not as great as in it's heyday though), there would not be an equal amount of intellectual satisfaction. Don't get me wrong--the current Voyager engineers are performing amazing intellectual feats. It's just that the project is nursing along the spacecraft in their final few communicating years as the power levels run out. There is probably very little programming done except to work around failing hardware. Non-emergency concerns probably mainly focus on which remaining subsystems to power down and when. Also, the time frames for operations are really long. I believe some of the current Voyager staff work only part-time on Voyager and younger engineers probably don't want to sit around twiddling their thumbs for a good amount of time while waiting for results. (Neither do older engineers for that matter!) The quote about attracting younger programmers is from Matsumoto's paper; she also gives this account of a 2010 memory problem: "For example, when the V2 experienced a bit flip in the FDS [computer] in 2010, it took about two weeks to recover enough to receive the engineering data, and another two weeks to receive the science data. It took another four and one-half months to adjust the timing delay caused by the anomaly and resynchronize the CCS and FDS clocks. Realigning the baseline events to the regular schedule had to be delayed even longer due to other activities competing for the resources." https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2016-2415 https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2016-2415 (PDF) We've seen a similar situation more recently with recovering from the failed FDS memory block. So, although enthusiasm is important for a Voyager programmer, patience is a virtue!

trollied 2y ago

I love learning new languages, and working on something this incredible would be absolutely amazing. Certainly more worthwhile than modern web dev.

exe34 2y ago

I'm guessing maybe it's the hiring side that wants people who already have $x number of years experience? it reminds me of the guy who wrote angular(?) and wanted to apply for a job but couldn't, because it required 8 years of experience and this was only 5 years after he wrote it.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

qingcharles 2y ago

I've tried to get the source code too, but end up going around in circles between NASA and JPL :(