VOYAGER 1 Signal Received by AMSAT-DL Group 110
Anonymous Coward writes "
Space probe VOYAGER 1 successfully received.
On March 31st, 2006 an AMSAT-DL /IUZ team received a signal from the American
space probe VOYAGER 1 with the 20 m antenna in Bochum. The distance was
14.7 billion km. This is a new record for AMSAT-DL and IUZ Bochum. The
received signal was clearly identified through means of doppler shift and
position in the sky. The receive frequency was exactly measured and compared
with the information provided by NASA.
This distance equals approximately 98 times the distance between Earth and Sun.
VOYAGER 1 is the most distant object ever built by mankind. This again proves
the superior performance of the Bochum antenna. Most probably this is the
first time Voyager 1 has been received by radio amateurs.
VOYAGER 1 was launched on 5. September 1977 by NASA. It transmitted the
first close-up pictures of Jupiter and Saturn. In 2004 VOYAGER 1 passed the
Termination Shock Region, where the solar wind mixes with interstellar gas.
VOYAGER 1 today is still active, measuring the interstellar magnetic field.
The following radio amateurs were involved:
Freddy de Guchteneire, ON6UG
James Miller, G3RUH
Hartmut Paesler, DL1YDD
Achim Vollhardt, DH2VA/HB9DUN
Special thanks to Thilo Elsner, DJ5YM of the IUZ Bochum, Roger Ludwig of Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena USA and the Deep Space Network
Tracking Station in Madrid, Spain for their cooperation.
"
Re:Excellent! (Score:5, Informative)
From the article:
About every 175 years, the outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, are aligned geometrically in such a way as to minimize the trip time and energy required to tour all four. In 1965, Gary Flandro, who was at JPL at the time, pointed out that the next such opportunity would occur in 1976, 1977, and 1978 and designed some Grand Tour gravity-assist trajectories that included an Earth-Jupiter-Saturn-Uranus-Neptune mission.
Re:Don't build 'em like that anymore (Score:4, Informative)
The RTG generators used in these probes are neither clean nor efficient. That's not really an issue in deep space, though.
BTW, they still build 'em like that. The Pluto probe launched this year has one.
Re:Don't build 'em like that anymore (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Excellent! (Score:3, Informative)
Your other examples were good, there was no need to co-opt others achievements. Giving credit where it's due shouldn't be done backhandedly.