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5 posts total
AkaSci

While we were not watching, the Voyager 1 spacecraft underwent another surgery.

In August, V1 switched thrusters used for orientation control, because the fuel tubes in the thrusters had clogged up with residue.

To perform the switch, the thrusters had to be warmed by turning on its heaters while turning off another set for an hour.

All very tricky and risky operations, performed from 22.8 light-hours away on 1970’s era hardware.

Kudos again to the Voyager team.

blogs.nasa.gov/voyager/2024/09
1/n

While we were not watching, the Voyager 1 spacecraft underwent another surgery.

In August, V1 switched thrusters used for orientation control, because the fuel tubes in the thrusters had clogged up with residue.

To perform the switch, the thrusters had to be warmed by turning on its heaters while turning off another set for an hour.

1. Diagram of Voyager spacecraft with its major components. Source https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/basics/Spacecraft-Information-Voyagers/ 2. Graphic showing timeline of Voyager 1 switching between thruster sets
10 September at 23:18 | Open on fosstodon.org
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Tom

@AkaSci the Voyager program is really a modern cathedral project. Whole careers have been spent devoted to this work. An entire generation has worked on it at this point, handing off to successors who may well see their grandkids taking up the work.
Amazing

11 September at 2:06 | Open on nerdculture.de
Incident Creator ❎
8Petros [Signal: Petros.63]
That's one heck of solid engineering.
11 September at 9:16 | Open on petroskowo.pl
AkaSci

Searing heat in India today.
Max. recorded temp: 49.8°C
Many central regions of the country with above 40°C temperatures.
May tends to be the hottest month in India.
Source: India Meteorological Department
#India #WxIndia
1/n

1. Tweet by India Meteorological Department showing temp. map over India. 2. Tweet with observed max temps today https://x.com/Indiametdept
26 May at 16:54 | Open on fosstodon.org
AkaSci

Also, severe cyclonic storm Remal is poised to strike Bangladesh around midnight today with max wind speeds of 110-120 kmph. Indian states bordering Bangladesh will also be affected.

Cyclone Remal was named by Oman as per the standard convention of naming tropical cyclones in the region. In Arabic, Remal means sand.

Graphic source: India Meteorological Department
#India #Bangladesh
2/n

Map of region around Bangladesh and projected track and wind speeds of SCS ReMal
26 May at 17:00 | Open on fosstodon.org
MidgePhoto

@AkaSci
Looks borderline survivable.

26 May at 20:13 | Open on photog.social
Kevin Russell

@AkaSci

It is NOT SUMMER IN INDIA YET.

This is spring heat deaths.

26 May at 20:29 | Open on mstdn.social
AkaSci

The venerable Voyager 1 spacecraft is experiencing another glitch. Instead of sending science and engg. data, it is sending a 0101 bit pattern.

The problem has been narrowed down to the flight data system (FDS), which is not communicating properly with the telecom unit (TMU). A reboot did not help.

Stay tuned as NASA engrs work out a fix for this 1970's era computer, which has performed magnificently during its long 46-year journey to the planets and to outer space.
blogs.nasa.gov/sunspot/
1/n

The venerable Voyager 1 spacecraft is experiencing another glitch. Instead of sending science and engg. data, it is sending a 0101 bit pattern.

The problem has been narrowed down to the flight data system (FDS), which is not communicating properly with the telecom unit (TMU). A reboot did not help.

Stay tuned as NASA engrs work out a fix for this 1970's era computer, which has performed magnificently during its long 46-year journey to the planets and to outer space.
blogs.nasa.gov/sunspot/

Pic of Voyager 1 Schematic of Voyager data and telecom subsystems
13 Dec 2023 at 1:34 | Open on fosstodon.org
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Dave

@AkaSci To put it in perspective... this is the sort of thing that was the pinnacle of automobile engineering when Voyager was launched. Comparing a Voyager to one of these... the spacecraft has a truly amazing record of engineering reliability and longevity.

Advertisement from August 1977 for an Austin / Leyland Princess motor car - a British car that looks a bit like a back to front version of one of Space Karen's Cybertrucks. Source: the "Papers Past" newspaper archive https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/press/1977/08/25/15
13 Dec 2023 at 8:46 | Open on mastodon.nz
Edelruth In The Wrong Timeline

@AkaSci

I am going to be grief-stricken if either of these two probes stop talking to us.

13 Dec 2023 at 20:11 | Open on mastodon.online
Diamond Joy (Dogs for Harris!)

@AkaSci
Singing earth's message loud and proud to the rest of it all.

13 Dec 2023 at 23:49 | Open on mastodon.world
AkaSci

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to -

Pierre Agostini - The Ohio State University, USA

Ferenc Krausz - Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Garching and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany

Anne L’Huillier - Lund University, Sweden

“for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter”

attosecond = 1E-18 second

nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/
#NobelPrize
1/n

The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to -

Pierre Agostini - The Ohio State University, USA

Ferenc Krausz - Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Garching and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Germany

Anne L’Huillier - Lund University, Sweden

“for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter”
3 Oct 2023 at 12:57 | Open on fosstodon.org
AkaSci

2023 Physics Nobel Laureate Pierre Agostini :

Current affiliation: Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.

Born: 1941, Tunisia
PhD: 1968 from Aix-Marseille University, France.
Post-doc and research: CEA Saclay, Paris Saclay University

#NobelPrize
2/n
3 Oct 2023 at 13:04 | Open on fosstodon.org
AkaSci

Some (all?) of the NASA Juno Perijove-47 images have finally been released. Raw and processed images of Jupiter and Io are available at missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/p.

As was reported earlier, images from PJ47 on Dec 14 could not be downloaded immediately due to a radiation-caused glitch in Juno's onboard computer.

Watch for specially processed images by pros like @kevinmgill and @andrealuck soon.
Credit for this image of Io: NASA/SwRI/MSSS/Navaneeth Krishnan S © CC BY
#NASA #Juno #Jupiter #Io
1/n

Some (all?) of the NASA Juno Perijove-47 images have finally been released. Raw and processed images of Jupiter and Io are available at missionjuno.swri.edu/junocam/p.

As was reported earlier, images from PJ47 on Dec 14 could not be downloaded immediately due to a radiation-caused glitch in Juno's onboard computer.
7 Jan 2023 at 1:39 | Open on fosstodon.org
Andrea Luck

@AkaSci I hope I’ll be able to go through the data soon, I’m quite busy lately 😭

7 Jan 2023 at 17:54 | Open on fosstodon.org
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