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NASA To Contact Its Oldest Spacecraft

Posted by timothy on from the don't-build-'em-like-they-used-ta dept.

BugBBQ writes: "This is very "Space:1999 UltraProbe" kinda-kool... NASA will attempt to contact its oldest spacecraft, Pioneer-6, launched in 1965! (yikes! that's the year I was born for crying out loud! which I'm sure I did at the time)). p.s.: Anyone who gets the Space:1999 ref is welcome to e-mail me" This bird has been spinning through space for a long time.

2 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Usefull Data. by HiyaPower · · Score: 5

    Some of these older space probes are still producing useful data. Check out Mit's Space Plasma web page. Voyager 2 is alive and well and producing data which is being actively studied. It should be passing the heliopause soon and then really be out beyond the system. Its hard to keep interest and funding up for these old guys, but it is well worth the effort.

  2. Re:What hardware is it running? by lemox · · Score: 5

    There's not a whole lot of info on Pioneer 6, but what is you can find is here and here.

    Pioneer 10 is the sexier of ventures, since it's now the furthest away, and therefore gets more attention.

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