Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
It is 40 years since Voyager 2 performed the first and, so far, only flyby of the planet Uranus. The resulting trove of data, however, was a bonus that almost didn't happen.
At the time of Voyager 2's launch, Uranus wasn't part of the formal plan. The mission was referred to for a long time as the Mariner Jupiter-Saturn project. The JPL engineers famously had other ideas and ensured the spacecraft had enough fuel to continue on a trajectory to Uranus and beyond if the mission was approved.
As it was, Voyager 1 performing a successful flyby of Saturn's moon Titan meant that Voyager 2 could continue on the Grand Tour, taking in Uranus and Neptune.
Former Voyager scientist Garry Hunt told The Register: "It was a fantastic encounter because it almost didn't happen. After Saturn, we had the scan platform problem. If that problem had not been resolved, there wouldn't have been a Uranus encounter."
Following the Saturn encounter, the Voyager scan platform, an assembly that allowed cameras to pan and tilt, seized on the horizontal axis. The failure would have resulted in a significant data loss and was traced to a lubrication problem. Engineers were able to rectify the issue remotely, and the probe dodged a bullet on its way to Uranus.
"It was a testing encounter," recalled Hunt. "In the interim period between the '82 encounter with Saturn and getting to Uranus, the engineers had to reorganize how the scan platform was operating. The computer system had to be altered again. All the sequencing had to be dealt with in a new manner, and we had to prepare a wobbling spacecraft to take low-exposure images in a very dark environment and get that information back to Earth."
The focus had, after all, been on Jupiter and Saturn. While the probe's makers had filled the fuel tanks before launch, going to Uranus and Neptune was not a given. "We made sure, from an engineering perspective, it could do it. But they said, 'Oh dear, you haven't got any money.'"
The funding came, and Hunt recalled that serious work on what needed to be done started in early 1983. As well as software changes on the spacecraft (updates were made to use novel compression methods and avoid sending back black images when nothing was in view), antennas on Earth were upgraded to pick up the increasingly faint Voyager 2 signal.
"It was an incredible achievement," said Hunt, "an achievement for engineering, which science has obviously been able to explore more."
The flyby produced a tremendous amount of data about Uranus (or "George" if its 18th-century discoverer, William Herschel, had his way) – the planet had a magnetic field that was not aligned with its rotational axis. Additional rings appeared in Voyager 2's data, and images of the moon Miranda showed signs consistent with a violent impact that may have blown it apart and allowed it to reform.
[...] Finally, Hunt revealed that amid the flyby preparations, time was set aside to ensure everyone pronounced "Uranus" the approved way. "We had been briefed very strongly by the public relations people at JPL on how to pronounce 'Uranus' because the Australians were pronouncing it... incorrectly (which I will not mention)... and Americans found this somewhat embarrassing."
(Score: 4, Funny) by srobert on Sunday February 01, @03:39PM
"... We're going to punch you right in the face."
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Gaaark on Sunday February 01, @03:58PM (10 children)
But they're okay with saying "Epstein committed suicide...or Trump isn't a rapist... or 'Melania' isn't a flop".
Only the rest of the world is okay with saying "These are embarassing" i guess.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 01, @06:41PM (9 children)
I have a serious question. Why do so many of you from outside of the US have so much to say about the US?
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 01, @07:32PM (2 children)
Because we share the same planet - and everything that you do affects our lives too. When you are doing well the rest of the world is usually doing OK too. But when you are getting things very, very wrong then we all have to suffer.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02, @03:08AM (1 child)
Did you ever hear that you shouldn't shit in your own drinking pond?
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02, @05:52AM
Did you ever hear that you shouldn't ask questions if you are not going to like the answers.
(Score: 0, Offtopic) by Gaaark on Sunday February 01, @08:52PM (5 children)
Because even when the rest of the world (even the ones that say they love Trump: *cough* Putin *cough*) is laughing at you for electing a big orange turd,
half1/3 of you still defend him.He is a real piece of shit.
His supporters (Christians, so they say) like seeing people shit on and murdered even though they are law-abiding people and citizens. They love seeing things done that would have made Nazi's proud and WOULD HAVE MADE CHRIST CRY!
Supposed Christians doing VERY unchristian things. Fraud by their President being okayed. "Our President is a rapist? No problem."
The reason we have so much to say is we can't believe it has taken this long for Americans to start waking up and stop supporting a turd. We thought you were all smarter than you really appear to be.
While we were laughing at you, you were being conned. Some of you are still drinking the Freshie/Kool-aid. Some of you are still not even Hill-billy smart.
This is why... we just can't believe the stupidity.
The right talks about 'woke'. You people need to 'wake up' yourselves.
A serious question; Why are so many of you 'Christians' okay with religious people being paint-balled in the head by people who are safely ensconced on the roof of a building?
Why are so many of you okay with Americans being killed by
NaziICE thugs?I'm not religious in any way and I'm still horrified as to why these thugs aren't being fired and charged and not sure why your President could still have 'Christian' supporters.
Says something about some of you, doesn't it?
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 02, @03:21AM (3 children)
Well there's the first problem. Religions are very complex, often perplexing, so until you understand more, you should spend less time babbling, and more time studying. At the very least, work on your overinflated ego and stop all the very childish insults and name-calling. Because you're otherwise a pretty cool and interesting guy.
I used to vote mostly Democrat, but as with a huge percentage of US citizens, I'm pretty independent. The Dems have been behaving very very badly for years, getting worse and worse. You're all rev'd up. The anti-ICE people are true insurrectionists.
I still can't figure you liberals out. One thing is for sure- you practice relative moralism. (I think that's what it's called.) I'm more in favor of a proper government following the system and structure. Our (US's) laws say there's a process to citizenship. Not just sneak in, or overstay a visa. The very simple fact that you all don't want to follow the laws as set forth by Congress makes me cling to the other side.
I have (much) more to say but I'm wasting my little free time. You (the lot) have so much angst and no rational thought, so trying to talk sense into you is a fool's errand. I do wish you well and more peace in your life.
(Score: 2, Offtopic) by janrinok on Monday February 02, @05:59AM
I fully support your desire to remove illegal immigrants, just as both parties have done for many years. They have no right to be there and should be returned to the country from whence they came.
I find the way that the US is going about it to be disgusting, and the real purpose of ICE is to intimidate and terrorise all Americans. You were once upset about tea, now you don't even give a damn about pedophiles, murderers, and grifters stealing your nation's wealth.
You are not only shitting in your own pond, but in everyone else's pond too.
[nostyle RIP 06 May 2025]
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Gaaark on Monday February 02, @11:34PM (1 child)
And where in Christs' teachings is it okay to kill an innocent by-stander?
And in your 'irrelative moralism' (i think it's called), it's okay to kill innocent people? If so, go back and study Christs' teachings yourself.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday February 04, @10:38PM
And how is THIS off-topic?
I think i'm getting off-topic bombed.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Gaaark on Monday February 02, @11:29PM
I answer a specific question and get modded off-topic.
Huh.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 5, Insightful) by VLM on Sunday February 01, @04:02PM (1 child)
The concept study from 2021 was pretty interesting to read
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus_Orbiter_and_Probe [wikipedia.org]
The EU had its own proposal that went nowhere (get the pun?)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus_Pathfinder [wikipedia.org]
The USA mission is delayed due to lack of plutonium production. Only countries with active and growing nuclear arsenals can make enough RTG fuel to launch deep space probes and the cold war is too cold in the USA now so the mission can't launch for at least another decade due to lack of fuel. Essentially Pu RTG fuel is a waste product of making really good weapons grade Pu, so if you're expanding your bomb supply you get the Voyager missions, if the bomb supply is not increasing, you do not get the Uranus Orbiter and Probe mission. Maybe Iran will launch the next space probe to Uranus.
I don't remember why the EU mission was cancelled. Their RTGs use AM-241 as thats easier to isolated from power reactor waste than the USA plutonium strategy. Obviously shutting down their nuke plants cuts off the AM-241 supply and the EU has other funding priorities such as replacing their legacy populations with cultures not historically interested in space exploration, etc. I don't think the EU, or whats left of it, will be going to outer space any time soon LOL.
Another interesting comparison is the booster (space-x) for the USA mission works and is on schedule and the booster for the EU mission was cancelled a couple years ago, so the EU plan has no booster... they could probably adapt the mission to a space-x rocket, sure. Possibly the legacy euros could use the Ariane 64, the first test launch is later this year, maybe it'll work. Apparently, Ariane 64 will be tested this year several times by tossing 32 Amazon satellites per mission, which is a lot. Starlink does not make a profit, so naturally Amazon is launching a "me too". Its a bubble thing. Maybe infinite competing unprofitable satellite networks will be the next bubble after AI.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday February 01, @07:10PM
"infinite competing unprofitable satellite networks"
While fucking up earth-based astronomy and creating more danger of a chain-reaction space garbage event
A lose-lose for the planets inhabitants.