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8 Track Tape to the stars! Voyager Spacecraft approaching Edge of the Solar System

Treker

Treker

Super Member
The Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft were launched in 1977, and because of this used late '60's and early '70's vintage electronics. In the case of computer memory and storage, the Voyager spacecraft were outfitted with 68 kilobytes of memory, and 8 track tape recorders for data storage.

Here is the link to the full article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48897403/ns/technology_and_science-space/#.UEbHv6O04XU

It is really neat that they were able to do so much great science with what is today considered so little in the way of computing power. According to the article, even an 8 gigabyte iPod Nano is 100,000 times more powerful.

Go Voyagers!
 
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AnalogDigit said:
Who is going to change the felt pad or the foil on the 8 track tape?
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I personally am a bit surprised they are still working. They must have been high end "Rad Hard" units to have survived this long, especially in the harsh environment of space.
 
Treker said:
It is really neat that they were able to do so much great science with what is today considered so little in the way of computing power. According to the article, even an 8 gigabyte iPod Nano is 100,000 times more powerful.

Go Voyagers!
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Yes,but if you launched an iPod into space it probably wouldnt make it to the asteroid belt. :D
 
Per the MSNBC link:

Each only has 68 kilobytes of computer memory. To put that in perspective, the smallest iPod — an 8-gigabyte iPod Nano — is 100,000 times more powerful. Each also has an eight-track tape recorder. Today's spacecraft use digital memory.
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Per the NASA JPL link:

http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/index.html

The identical Voyager spacecraft .........In addition, data are collected from the Planetary Radio Astronomy (PRA) instrument and Voyager 1's Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS). The Flight Data Subsystem (FDS) and a single 8-track digital tape recorder (DTR) provide the data handling functions. The FDS configures each instrument and controls instrument operations. It also collects engineering and science data and formats the data for transmission. The DTR is used to record high-rate PWS data. Data are played back every six months.
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Lesson: Never get your facts from MSNBC !!!

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Those two probes are true marvels of engineering, they have changed our perception of the solar system, and continue to move the boundaries of solar system science to this day.
Only the great Hubble (the 9th wonder of the world in my opinion) can compete with that.
 
I grew up with the space program and I am always in awe of what NASA did. Thirty years ago I worked with Neil Armstrong's nephew. I had a Denver Post from the day of the moon landing and asked him he would send it to Neil and ask him to sign it. He did and it's one of my most prized possessions. It's a shame where we're at today in space exploration but at least we're on Mars with the Curiosity.
 
I'm sure it uses 8 tracks (one per bit), but it's not the cheap plastic cartridge we know as 8-tracks.
 
Saw that...amazing isn't it!

ssmith3046 said:
I grew up with the space program and I am always in awe of what NASA did. Thirty years ago I worked with Neil Armstrong's nephew. I had a Denver Post from the day of the moon landing and asked him he would send it to Neil and ask him to sign it. He did and it's one of my most prized possessions. It's a shame where we're at today in space exploration but at least we're on Mars with the Curiosity.
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I do miss the USA not being into space like they used to. Being in Southern Florida we used to always watch the rockets take off, when it was a clear day, and seen the space shuttle fly over the house when it was landing. It was so cool. Space Travel!
 
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bluesky said:
Saw that...amazing isn't it!



I do miss the USA not being into space like they used to. Being in Southern Florida we used to always watch the rockets take off, when it was a clear day, and seen the space shuttle fly over the house when it was landing. It was so cool. Space Travel!
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Don't forget NASA just put a car sized rover on to the surface of Mars, using a rocket powered sky crane!
 
It's amazing what we can do.I wish we'd send a manned mission to Mars already,big bucks but I think NASA only gets 1/10 of 1% of the national budget for missions.
 
just dave said:
It's amazing what we can do.I wish we'd send a manned mission to Mars already,big bucks but I think NASA only gets 1/10 of 1% of the national budget for missions.
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One small step... at the time :)

Edit: In fact, I think the sky crane is a rather considerable step.
 
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just dave said:
What is the sky crane?
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The rocket propelled platform, with a crane system underneath, that put the MSL rover on the surface of Mars not long ago.

I see a great future for this tech, who knows what this kind of system could deliver.

mars-rover-landing-sequence-lowering-sky-crane_57832_600x450.jpg
 
Barely out of the solar system and already we're like awww, that vintage technology is soooo cute.

Alien races who encounter these vehicles hundreds of years from now are going to be like "what kind of primitive species sent this junk out?". :D
 
Alien races who encounter these vehicles hundreds of years from now are going to be like "what kind of primitive species sent this junk out?".
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Or a not so advance species will worship them as gods.
 
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