this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2024
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[–] EleventhHour@lemmy.world 149 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Always have a backup. You may not use it for 43 years, but you’ll be glad it’s there when you do.

[–] Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world 157 points 6 days ago (4 children)

I'm only 41 years old.

This recievier has been working for my whole life, goes out of service 15 billion miles away, turns on a backup reciever, and is now back in contact with NASA.

.........but the ice cream machine at McDonalds is still broken.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 83 points 6 days ago

Both are by design. The ice cream machine actually just got a DMCA exception so the company that makes it no longer can dictate who repairs it.

[–] USNWoodwork@lemmy.world 28 points 6 days ago (3 children)

I'm picturing the Voyager 1 terminal is an ancient computer from the 1970s hooked up to a large parabolic antenna, and everyone is afraid to upgrade it because they might mess something up. I'm sure that's not the case, but its what lives in my mind.

Since I was thinking about it I looked up some stuff: "So Voyager-1 does not β€œreally” have a computer, in the sense that it does not have an operating system or RAM or a microprocessor. It was built in the 60s before any of this was invented and used CMOS-based microcontroller chips from Texas Instruments. Overall, it has a 16-bit processor and a MASSIVE memory of 70 KILOBYTES. That is smaller memory than a thumbnail of a phone image today, but it was enough to send images through which we discovered Jupiter has rings and much more."

From: https://medium.com/towards-generative-ai/voyager-1-what-computer-system-it-has-that-is-still-running-strong-a269aaea316b

[–] bstix@feddit.dk 7 points 5 days ago

Although it doesn't compare to modern systems, the computer systems on Voyager is a computer by all means. It's even the longest running computer that ever existed, having never been shut off. It runs Fortran code.

The image data that the camera made didnn't have to fit in the computers memory. It was written directly to tape, which was then transmitted by the computer. The resolution is 800x800 pixels with only one colour at a time. The colour images or in larger resolutions were combinations of several images. The camera has been shut off by now.

Speaking of not wanting to touch the code, it did have an issue last year, where the code seemed to have stopped or gone into a loop for unknown reasons making it inaccessible for the operators on Earth. Thankfully another part of the computer was instructed to periodically overwrite the main code, so it managed to correct the error by itself. At least that's what I remember reading.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

You can cram a load of machine language into 70K. Seems far more than needed, bet a bunch is for redundancy.

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The obvious solution is to launch the ice cream machines into space.

[–] whostosay@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Holy fuck is that* the real distance?

[–] HootinNHollerin@lemmy.world 48 points 6 days ago (2 children)
[–] Hugh_Jeggs@lemm.ee 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Hank, don't spray WD into your locks, you're better than that Hank

[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 12 points 6 days ago (1 children)
  1. The guy is in Texas and not cooking over pecan wood. I'm making this point to show that he's ignorant. That doesn't mean dumb, it just means he doesn't know any better.

  2. We all know you shouldn't use that on your locks these days and can easily Google why. He wasn't a technology guy and only really knew what he read or what an old guy who didn't know shit told him. He did things the way he thought was right but he had some pretty big blind spots. Maybe he didn't know about 3-in-1 oil.

  3. Plus it was a cartoon written by people who probably didn't know any better and I'm taking both that fact and your comment far too seriously (or I'm just making an elaborate joke, that's for the reader to decide).

[–] Hugh_Jeggs@lemm.ee 12 points 6 days ago (1 children)

In case you're wondering, the correct substance is graphite powder

[–] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Yep, I had completely forgotten about graphite because I was looking at my 3-in-1 oil at the time. My mistake, and I'm leaving it to show my own hubris and blind spots, much like the Texan pictured above.

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[–] uservoid1@lemmy.world 75 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Every few months there is a similar such story about this ancient marvel of technology and the people remotely maintaining it against all odds.

I can imagine a headline 100 years from now:

"Engineers are modifying Voyager 1 decorative panel bolt into a functional interstellar communicator"

[–] Classy@sh.itjust.works 26 points 6 days ago (1 children)

each line of code is transmitted over a bandwidth that only supports 1/2 a bit, and it takes 3.5 years to reach the Voyager

[–] Big_Boss_77@lemmynsfw.com 4 points 5 days ago

This is the exact bit of data I was searching for, thanks a bunch.

[–] whaleross@lemmy.world 11 points 5 days ago (1 children)

A hacker has hijacked the communication relay and managed to install Doom on the Voyager. The game runs perfectly but the user interface is reported to be somewhat laggy.

[–] Shmandom 1 points 4 days ago

... He then went on to check if he could run Crysis on it.

[–] Zier@fedia.io 51 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Cell phone broke, now using pay phone.

[–] beefbot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 68 points 6 days ago (2 children)

This is a collect call from: MOMCOMEPICKMEUP IMOUTSIDETHEHELIOPAUSE, do you accept the charges?

[–] Zier@fedia.io 11 points 6 days ago

We need to start a new prank. People should randomly start phone conversations with, "This is a collect call from Richard, do you accept the charges?"., when you phone a friend. It's funny because no one does collect calls on cell phones. It's ironic & stupid at the same time.

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[–] Allonzee@lemmy.world 24 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Humans will be extinct, and Voyager will still be carrying our mixtape through eternity.

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 47 points 6 days ago (2 children)

It's sad it'll probably lose contact relatively soon. Does anyone know if there are any plans for a new long distance probe?

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 55 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 children)

They're already out there. Just don't get as much news as Voyager. Unfortunately I don't think any will be capable of lasting as long since we stopped using the radio isotope generators. New horizons is currently in the Kupier belt. It's the 5th such probe to reach escape velocity from our solar system. Pioneer 10 and 11 were the other non-voyager probes.

Edit: I was incorrect, new horizons does use an RTG for power. But right now its mission is slated to end in 2029. I wonder if it will be kept alive like the Voyager probes.

Edit 2: yeah, the RTG is slated to run out of power to run the transmitters in the 2030s. It was originally designed to be more powerful but the DOE delayed delivery of the plutonium 238 required.

[–] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Dept of Education? D O Emissions? Can't figure it out even with some searching

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 22 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Department of Energy. The main role is to handle the radioactive materials that the government creates and uses

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Also one of the three departments Rick Perry (R-Texas) couldn't remember that he wanted to eliminate.

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

"See? If there is no government agency handlin' radioactive waste, that problem goes away!"

[–] Serinus@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

He did change his tune after he became Secretary of Energy.

Also, May 15, 2023 β€” Former Energy Secretary Rick Perry would not support former President Donald Trump in his reelection campaign when asked on Sunday,

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[–] MossyFeathers@pawb.social 15 points 6 days ago

Department of Energy.

[–] Damage@feddit.it 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Department of Enthalpy

[–] hohoho@lemmy.world 5 points 6 days ago

Department of Energy

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[–] luves2spooge@lemmy.world 19 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I think for the Voyager launches the planets and the sun were aligned in such a way that the probes could be slingshotted around them to gain speed. I think such an alignment is quite rare?

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 16 points 6 days ago

It's a bit more complicated than that. New Horizons actually went way faster than the Voyager probes, getting to Pluto in only 9.5 years. It took Voyager 2 just slightly longer than 12 years to reach Neptune for comparison. The planetary alignment you are thinking about was due to relative proximity. Obviously you can't use Saturn to slingshot you to Uranus if they are on opposite sides of the solar system. All the outer planets were going to be on the same side of the solar system, allowing the Voyager probes to visit them all in succession.

[–] bstix@feddit.dk 3 points 5 days ago

It only happens every 400 years or so.

It's pretty crazy to think about. The Voyager mission isn't just a big thing for the current generations, but also for many future generations, who will not have as good an opportunity.

[–] mausy5043@lemmy.world 17 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 9 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Some would say, too legit, even.

[–] 0x0@programming.dev 19 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Whenever someone tells me 1 GiB of RAM isn't enough, i think of Voyager.

[–] NikkiDimes@lemmy.world 16 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Let's see Voyager load up Chrome real quick

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 13 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Voyager is it's own search engine. Why would it need chrome?

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago

Voyager wasn’t written in JavaScript, to Web 2.0

[–] xia@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 5 days ago

Clearly they need to upload more RAM...

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 13 points 5 days ago

I get it. Sometimes my voice gets hoarse too.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 23 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Talk about a slow troubleshooting process. Thats, what, 80,000,000ms latency?

[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

And any useful answer thread on stackoverflow is archived.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

Your post "Received error code 0459 from 1981 JPL Transmitter Array" has been marked as a Duplicate.

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