What's Up With Ulysses?, alive? dead? cancelled soon? Options

[deglr6328]

What is up with the tiny Ulysses spacecraft that was launched in 1990 to study the solar whatever at high lattitudes? Last I heard it was in danger of dying because the RTG power was running low and at aphelion there was a risk of the hydrazine freezing/exploding in its propulsion system. Well that was like a year ago and I haven't heard anything since. It looks like it should've passed aphelion by now and should be out of danger.....

Its been going up there for over a full solar cycle, is it one of the missions on the chopping block because of the new humans on moon/mars thing?

[remcook]

ah I see now.

[ustrax]

There goes Ulysses...again...

I really enjoy Dr. Marsden' updates:

"It's amazing to think that a satellite that was designed in the mid-1970's
and built in the early 1980's is still operating perfectly in 2007!"

[peter59]

"It's amazing to think that a satellite that was designed in the mid-1970's and built in the early 1980's is still operating perfectly in 2007!"

It's not very great achievement, Ulysses at last was launched in 1990. Pioneer 6, the first in a series of solar-orbiting satellites was launched December 16, 1965. Although the spacecraft have not been regularly tracked for science data return in recent years, a successful telemetry contact with Pioneer 6 was made on December 8, 2000 to celebrate 35 years of continuous operation since launch. As of March 15, 2006, Pioneer 6 is still described as "extant", and is the oldest operating space probe (if still operating).

[tedstryk]

It's not very great achievement, Ulysses at last was launched in 1990. Pioneer 6, the first in a series of solar-orbiting satellites was launched December 16, 1965. Although the spacecraft have not been regularly tracked for science data return in recent years, a successful telemetry contact with Pioneer 6 was made on December 8, 2000 to celebrate 35 years of continuous operation since launch. As of March 15, 2006, Pioneer 6 is still described as "extant", and is the oldest operating space probe (if still operating).

Pioneer 6 is an incredibly simple spacecraft, operating in a relatively consistent thermal environment. Ulysses is far more complex and relies on a finite power source. The fact that it lasted all these years and is only now being killed by the natural decay of RTGs (or the side effects from that lack of power) is very remarkable. Plus, Ulysses could have been preserved longer if they elected to turn the instruments off, but what would be the point in that?