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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Jun 12 2008, 07:09 PM
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#2
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1729 Joined: 3-August 06 From: 43° 35' 53" N 1° 26' 35" E Member No.: 1004 |
Today at ESA Headquarters, the Ulysses Legacy press conference
http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEMPEQUG3HF_index_0_ov.html |
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Jun 30 2008, 08:40 PM
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#3
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 55 Joined: 1-May 06 From: Cincinnati, Ohio Member No.: 758 |
Today is June 30th, so folks, say goodbye to old Ulysses, he's heading home at last... End-of-Mission July 1st, 2008.
Rob |
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Jul 1 2008, 02:23 PM
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Interplanetary Dumpster Diver Group: Admin Posts: 4405 Joined: 17-February 04 From: Powell, TN Member No.: 33 |
Today is June 30th, so folks, say goodbye to old Ulysses, he's heading home at last... End-of-Mission July 1st, 2008. Rob A sad nominal date, although tracking is still scheduled through the middle of the month (basically, this is as long as they figured fuel-bleeding might keep the hydrazine lines from freezing). A major science blow occurred at the end of May, when it reached a point at which it could only send data to the 70 meter antennae at 512bps. This is significant because the tape recorder plays at 1024bps at its slowest, meaning that Ulysses can only send data in real time now. Back during the 2003-2004 Jupiter Distant Encounter, the tape recorder was turned off for about three months so that it could operate all instruments at the same time (as opposed to power sharing, which it needed to do when far from the sun, since during the recent perihelion it could shut its heaters off and get the same effect). However, this required 24/7 DSN coverage, which, given the Jovian Science (a highlight was the additional data about dust streams from Io) that was being done, was worth it. However, at 512 bps (and soon to drop below that), it would be hard to justify constant coverage. -------------------- |
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