> A command from Earth takes 22.5 hours to reach the probe
Voyager 1 is closing in on being the first human-made object to travel 1 light day.
V1 has traveled ~22.5 light hours in ~46.5 years [0], and assuming that average rate of 2.07 years/light hour [1] it will reach 1 light day in around 3.1 years. Does anyone know its potential to have sufficent power to measuring anything and transmit at that point?
Remember that V1 did not travel in a straight line or at a constant rate from Earth through its planetary explorations, so the average rate now is probably higher than that simple calculation.
Also, if we are looking at distance and speed relative to Earth, and Earth's orbit around the Sun would cause some variation throughout the year. Could Earth's relative orbital positions at V1's launch decades ago and when V1 approaches 1 light day in three years significantly affect V1's distance from Earth? Earth's orbital diameter is roughly 300 million km; V1 travels at ~61,000 km/hr relative to the Sun [0], so the worst case would add ~4,900 hours or ~205 days. (Those are some quick calculations and I have to run to a meeting, so I hope there are no glaring errors!)
Also, I assume the Sun's movement relative to Voyager 1 has been constant since its launch.
When the news of the breakage first spread I hacked together a fun shell alias to take the current distance of v1 or V2, calculate out the roundtrip signal time, then inject a sleep() before your command ran.
The idea of troubleshooting a computer system with that sort of delay must make them incredibly creative.
Voyager 1 is closing in on being the first human-made object to travel 1 light day.
V1 has traveled ~22.5 light hours in ~46.5 years [0], and assuming that average rate of 2.07 years/light hour [1] it will reach 1 light day in around 3.1 years. Does anyone know its potential to have sufficent power to measuring anything and transmit at that point?
[0] https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/
[1] Notes on Voyager's average rate:
Remember that V1 did not travel in a straight line or at a constant rate from Earth through its planetary explorations, so the average rate now is probably higher than that simple calculation.
Also, if we are looking at distance and speed relative to Earth, and Earth's orbit around the Sun would cause some variation throughout the year. Could Earth's relative orbital positions at V1's launch decades ago and when V1 approaches 1 light day in three years significantly affect V1's distance from Earth? Earth's orbital diameter is roughly 300 million km; V1 travels at ~61,000 km/hr relative to the Sun [0], so the worst case would add ~4,900 hours or ~205 days. (Those are some quick calculations and I have to run to a meeting, so I hope there are no glaring errors!)
Also, I assume the Sun's movement relative to Voyager 1 has been constant since its launch.