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Ulysses Space Mission Finally Coming To an End

Posted by Soulskill on from the four-more-year-four-more-years dept.

Dusty writes "After several false alarms, the Ulysses Mission is finally ending. According to the Spacecraft Operations Manager's latest status report, the last track will be on 30th June 2009 from 15:25 until 20:20 UTC. 'We've tried to bolster our dwindling tracking allocation with some success by grabbing antenna time released on short notice (mostly by the Spitzer Project). However, weekly data return figures are now typically 10% or less. And soon, even 512 bps from 70m antennas will be a thing of the past.' Further details about Ulysses' 18-year mission are available from NASA and the ESA. We discussed the failing spacecraft last summer when it looked like its fuel was going to freeze, but through clever engineering, experts managed to squeeze out another year.

45 comments

  1. Ulysses by Threni · · Score: 1, Funny

    Between you and me I never really understood what it was all about anyway...

    1. Re:Ulysses by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 1

      Just wait until Finnegan's Wake.

      At least Ulysses was English.

    2. Re:Ulysses by e9th · · Score: 1

      I always thought he was Greek.

    3. Re:Ulysses by Tablizer · · Score: 2, Funny

      Maybe it was a mistake naming a probe something that resembles "Useless".

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    4. Re:Ulysses by KarlIsNotMyName · · Score: 1

      Yeah, that's honestly what I read it as at first, "Useless Space Mission Finally Coming To An End". I skimmed through while still on that thought, and reading "but through clever engineering, experts managed to squeeze out another year" made me wonder if these were a bunch of people doing all they could to waste time.

      --
      We are all God's parents.
    5. Re:Ulysses by R2.0 · · Score: 1

      "At least Ulysses was English."

      Sure about that? I got a 760 on the (old) SAT English section, got a "5" on the English AP, and I couldn't get past the first page.

      I really believe that no one has EVER read the book, but since they are to embarrassed to admit it, they just make shit up. And since no one else has read it, whose to say it's not true?

      --
      "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
    6. Re:Ulysses by longhairedgnome · · Score: 0

      Ulysses is a nice walk through a park compared to the trek that is finnegans wake. I've read maybe 30-45 of finnegans wake, I couldn't tell you much abou it but I've read it, its fun to break it down. Has anyone ever seen a double spaced edition in print?

      --
      GENERATION O98346: The first time you see this, copy it into your sig and remove a random number from the generation. T
    7. Re:Ulysses by demonlapin · · Score: 1

      I got a 760 on the (old) SAT English section, got a "5" on the English AP

      whose to say

      You sure about that? ;)

      I gave up on Joyce during Portrait of the Artist, somewhere in his school days. I vaguely remember something about cabbages, but I've managed to excise the rest.

    8. Re:Ulysses by QuoteMstr · · Score: 2, Funny

      Uncyclopedia has a brilliant summary of Finnegan's Wake:

      A Thirty-Fifth Century Chef d'eswerve

      runningisthe river past the begorrahbastards that wake o Finnegan (Irish innished thirtyfourthirtytwo), truly a myopic spectacle! Written in pictures or cats, perhaps both - femalines?

      Tout ceci et toi avez employé dans le développement de l'ancien n'avez pas pu rester seulement dans les pages du réseau !. Pour (tajenaiiiiiscmm) celui, et dans une certaine mesure le reste de l'organisation de cette information, vous trouverez la plupart des ressources existantes dans le domaine de la gestion et du travail, ou êtes responsable de l'information qu'elles prévoient pour s'employer.

      Alas; fine Finnegan's fate, making dry desert and rashy the thorred worlds and parsons thereof, though its poorness caused by poverty - redundadant? - of undry dessert and mmm (the pfilomunscenrtoolffloddoiolcomeyuloasdertenterytoumnckkawqwaweraoopfmrisndiurt!) rashy again and it is all God's feckin' fault. Plumghust. Mufflewhump. Urrrrgh. Adamand A man on the Eve of the running is the -

    9. Re:Ulysses by R2.0 · · Score: 1

      "whose to say"

      My excellent SAT results got me into an excellent college, where I proceeded to drink away so many brain cells I left college measurably dumber than when I entered. Funny how that works.

      --
      "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
    10. Re:Ulysses by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I always thought he was Greek."

      That was Odysseus

  2. Bloomsday by Beer+is+good · · Score: 2, Informative

    But June 16 is Bloomsday. How could they not end Ulysses on Bloomsday. That's when it all happens anyway.

    1. Re:Bloomsday by Wowsers · · Score: 0

      I thought Ulysses ended a long time go already.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_31

      --
      Take Nobody's Word For It.
  3. Not satisfied with polluting Earth by unlametheweak · · Score: 4, Funny

    Seems like they're going to abandon the space craft as garbage, contributing yet again to intergalactic pollution. If you love this universe you should keep it clean.

    1. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by unlametheweak · · Score: 1

      Somebody must have gotten rejected for a date. Again.

      Obviously. Knowledge of mathematics or computer systems does not imply intelligence nor logic.

      I can picture an image of God standing in front of the galaxy with a tear dripping down his eye.

    2. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by Tablizer · · Score: 4, Funny

      abandon the space craft as garbage, contributing yet again to intergalactic pollution.

      Don't worry, future cockroaches will put it in a museum.
           

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
    3. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by Heed00 · · Score: 1

      *sigh*

      Guess I'll go clean it up then...

      Anyone have a spare metaphasic shielded space ship, a pair of welding goggles and a sturdy trash bag I can borrow?

      --
      Thought thinks itself.
    4. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by Rashdot · · Score: 1

      It's impossible to pollute the universe because everything belongs in it anyway.

      All we're doing is rearrange some of its particles, and so far it doesn't seem to mind.

      --
      This is not the sig you're looking for.
    5. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by bencoder · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Do you know how fracking big the universe is? Even just our little solar system. This thing is orbiting the sun, like a planet. A planet the size of a small car. There's a lot of space around it. Even if we mined the whole planet and sent up as many of them as we could, we couldn't send up more than the mass of the earth. There would be a tiny tiny miniscule chance of them hitting each other.

      Please, have some respect for the scale here. I take it when you're visiting people's houses, you don't leave behind any flakes of your skin, or any molecules or crumbs of any part of you behind? Hypocrite.

    6. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by unlametheweak · · Score: 4, Funny

      I take it when you're visiting people's houses, you don't leave behind any flakes of your skin, or any molecules or crumbs of any part of you behind? Hypocrite.

      I'll have you know that I molt once a year in the privacy of my bathroom. No hypocrisy here.

    7. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by karnal · · Score: 1

      Oh I think it just hasn't gotten pissed off enough about the rearranging.... yet.

      --
      Karnal
    8. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by dimeglio · · Score: 1

      Yet, in 3000 years, some rich dude idiot's son is going to ram his spacecar into a piece of space junk left over from a NASA mission and die. His father will sue NASA for an obscene amount of spacedollars and win. I think due diligence should be part of future space missions and include an way to guide the dying spacecraft to closest star or blackhole.

      It'll happen, you read it here first!

      --
      Views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the author.
    9. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why shouldn't it be modded down? I always hope to find some insightful/interesting comments from articles like this, but usually end up with post after post of dreck just like that from people trying and failing to be funny.

    10. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by Ihmhi · · Score: 1

      So you played B.O.B. back in the day too, huh?

      --
      Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
    11. Re:Not satisfied with polluting Earth by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      I hope in 3000 years we'll know enough to simply slap that idiot in the face.

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
  4. Kudos NASA/ESA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They finished their Ulysses mission earlier than most people finish their Ulysses mission.

  5. Slightly off-topic by gzipped_tar · · Score: 1

    Should I tag this story "sun" or not??

    --
    Colorless green Cthulhu waits dreaming furiously.
  6. 1000 yrs. of darkness coming to an end? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Could happen? Anyone look up at the sky lately?

  7. The Ulysses mission accomplished a lot by e9th · · Score: 5, Informative
    Here is a short summary of its results. I especially like this one:

    Ulysses collected rare samples of interstellar helium isotopes, supplying evidence to support the idea that the Universe will expand forever because insufficient matter was created in the Big Bang to halt its outward march.

    1. Re:The Ulysses mission accomplished a lot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      that the Universe will expand forever

      Anything beyond 50-60 more years is pretty much useless to me.

    2. Re:The Ulysses mission accomplished a lot by sznupi · · Score: 1

      It's a shame. We would have a lot better world if people would think at least about few next generations...

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
    3. Re:The Ulysses mission accomplished a lot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, the whole project is based on the unwarranted assumption that interstellar hydrogen is evenly distributed? I thought we already knew there wasn't enough known mass in the universe, hence the postulation of dark matter.

    4. Re:The Ulysses mission accomplished a lot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah, stupid ESA. Not only did they assume that interstellar hydrogen is evenly distributed, but they mistakenly collected samples of helium instead. Even worse, the whole project was based on this, just like you said, and accomplished nothing else.

  8. The Romans have to rewrite everything by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1, Funny

    Eighteen years? What's with that? I thought Odysseus' journey was only 10 years.

    Are they still mad about that whole Trojan Horse thing? Get over it! Sheesh, you ended up with a city and an empire after all...

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  9. At that age... by Lally+Singh · · Score: 0

    At 18, you'd think Ulysses would get a vote on the topic.

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    Care about electronic freedom? Consider donating to the EFF!
  10. ReJoyce! MY Ulysses is still in orbit! by aqk · · Score: 0

    Yes, it's been rotating at 7,200 orbits per minute, ever since I downloaded it from Project Gutenberg three years ago.
    Assuming it's on a 3" platter (3-1/4"hard drive), I wonder how many miles it has traveled in three years?
    (SLASHDOT CHALLENGE)

    In any event, I still haven't gotten past chapter one. And some folk here actually suggest I move on to Finnegan's Wake! What cheekiness!

    --

    .
    - aqk
    F U /. illiterates.
  11. Going against the flow by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Missions like these are what space exploration should be about, at least in this stage.

    Humans do have a future in space, but unfortunately not a present. There are still so many things we don't know about our neighborhood (Solar system) and getting people up there is so expensive that to me at least, robotic exploration and hard science make more sense for now.

    A mission like GOCE for example, designed to map out the gravity of our Earth seems a million times more inspiring than any Constellation simply because of the long term results it will deliver. Getting cheap access through the Interplanetary Transport Network (Google it) to ANY point in our solar system seems more impressive to me than a footprint on Mars

  12. one last attempt possible? by hcdejong · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Playing with this Java applet that shows Ulysses' position relative to Earth, Ulysses will be a lot closer to Earth in 2013. It'd be interesting to see if the shorter distance will make up for 3 more years of decay of the RTG.

    1. Re:one last attempt possible? by japan_dan · · Score: 1

      Web stream from Ulysses mission support area @ JPL starting 30 Jun 15:00 UT