
Abandoned in space in 1967, a US satellite has started transmitting again - Cozumel
http://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/10/31/abandoned-in-space-in-1967-a-us-satellite-has-started-transmitting-again/
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samuell
> "This proves electronics built around 50 years ago, 12 years before Voyager
> 1, and far before microprocessors and integrated circuits are still capable
> of working in the hostile environs of space."

I think in some aspect, it might be even more so (robust), than today's
technology: Simpler, more to-the-point technology, leading to greater
robustness.

I think today's tech and IT industry has something to learn there, and I'm
really happy about the "back to basics" trend in IT, going back to compiled,
to-the-point languages like Go, closer-to-the hardware cloud systems etc.

~~~
pjc50
Recently I've been working my way through the PPrune megathread on Concorde:
[http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/423988-concorde-
question-77.h...](http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/423988-concorde-
question-77.html) , in which (somewhere) is a discussion of the control
systems. Analog fly-by-wire! A complex set of "synchro" and "resolver" systems
connected to op-amps, giving it autostabilisation and autothrottle all the way
up to Mach 2. The pilots would just push the throttles full open on the runway
and leave them there until it was time to come down.

~~~
concerned_user
AFAIK Concode only uses ~80% thrust on takeoff due to vibrations engines
create and risk of overheat. Also fuel gets pumped around to change CG, it is
a fascinating piece of machinery.

~~~
anexprogrammer
Relevant distraction: Nice in cockpit vid of pre takeoff CG and fuel transfer
checks, take off, and after checks. 10m.

[http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=16a_1231096566](http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=16a_1231096566)

Low light takeoff, because pretty:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7mt6AKKhq4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7mt6AKKhq4)

~~~
digler999
NSFW warning for the liveleak vid, if you're at work the site contains porn
ads.

~~~
Alupis
> NSFW warning for the liveleak vid, if you're at work the site contains porn
> ads.

For you maybe.

You gotta start signing out of your google and facebook account when searching
certain things... retargetting will get ya! ;-P

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ttyl0125
This situation sounds similar to what happened with AO-7:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMSAT-
OSCAR_7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMSAT-OSCAR_7)

Satellite is launched, goes silent after a few years due to electrical
problems. Decades later, the onboard batteries have deteriorated such that
they're just a short (no storage capacity), and the satellite works
intermittently when the solar panels are exposed to enough sunlight.

~~~
madengr
Actually an open circuit.

~~~
rhaps0dy
No, a short. Or closed circuit.

~~~
klodolph
The short in the battery was the original problem. The short eventually became
open 21 years later, which made things work.

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userbinator
_In 2013 in North Cornwall, UK, an Amateur Radio Astronomer picked up a signal
which he determined to be the LES1 that was built by MIT in 1965._

The date in the URL and article says 2016 though, so I'm still not completely
clarified on whether this is 3-year-old news or if the satellite is now
transmitting again, _again_ \--- actually, looking at the name of the site...
I'm leaning towards the former.

~~~
grendelt
It's 3 year old news rehashed in 2016 by this blog. Look up history of LES-1.

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nowarninglabel
Reminds me of: "It is then determined MPU is actually an old spy satellite
disguised as a weather satellite, that was programmed to reactivate after a
certain period of receiving no commands."

~~~
fader
To save others from having to Google this, it's a Cowboy Bebop reference:
[http://cowboybebop.wikia.com/wiki/Jamming_with_Edward](http://cowboybebop.wikia.com/wiki/Jamming_with_Edward)

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mgleason_3
Doesn't this remind anyone of "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home"? ...Where an
alien probe comes into earths orbit wreaking havoc to check on the whales and
turns out to be an early satllite from earth...

Man, I'm gettin' old.

~~~
oldmanjay
You're getting old enough to mix the plots of the 1st and 4th movies together.
V'ger was the early earth satellite that the enterprise chased down. The probe
seeking humpback whales was of alien origin. According to what I remember of
the novelization, the aliens had visited earth before recorded history.

I'm not happy I read the novelization of a Star Trek movie, but there we are.

~~~
outworlder
V'ger stands for Voyager, with some letters faded-out. Thus, not an earth
satellite...

I guess we are all getting old here.

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rubyfan
_daisy, daisy give me your answer do_

