What's Up With Ulysses?, alive? dead? cancelled soon? |
What's Up With Ulysses?, alive? dead? cancelled soon? |
Sep 27 2005, 04:05 AM
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#1
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Member Group: Members Posts: 356 Joined: 12-March 05 Member No.: 190 |
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? |
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Feb 26 2008, 04:26 PM
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#2
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 57 Joined: 21-September 06 Member No.: 1172 |
Yep, I made a stupid mistake. Or even two.
As for the solar light pressure, that's significant pertubator indeed. When I entered actual Ulysses area-to-mass ratio and size into the HORIZONS, results were changed dramatically. For example, Jupiter-2098 encounter: CODE Date (CT) Body CA Dist Vrel ---------------------- ----- -------- ------ albedo=0 : A.D. 2098 Nov 08.19535 Juptr 0.009333 19.193 albedo=1 : A.D. 2098 Nov 08.71105 Juptr 0.014856 17.347 |
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