Linked Questions
12 questions linked to/from When was the last normal electron tube (valve) for electrical circuitry launched into space?
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Do we use masers, lasers or infrared lasers to send data from deep space back to Earth? If not, why not?
I have posted in a couple of places (including here) about the recent (in the past year) news about future probes, landers, etc. using strong visible light lasers to send data back to us at much ...
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First LED left on another planet⁺ by humans?
Light Emitting Diodes or LEDs are ubiquitous now, but I still remember riding my bike to Radio Shack and buying my first LED, checking the diagram on the back of the package, and getting a battery and ...
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What was the first use of analog to digital conversion in a satellite?
This answer to Do the Voyager probes transmit analogue or digital data? states that the Voyagers sent only digital data. This is no doubt mostly because analog data was digitized and store digitally ...
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What was the first unplanned "over-the-air" software update of a spacecraft?
From time-to-time spacecraft have had to be rebooted, in one case Voyager 2 mutinied and had to be reprogrammed and in another Opportunity had it's memory "hacked".
As far as I know, deep space ...
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When did an astronaut in space first see someone on a TV screen?
The Apollo missions had video cameras and transmitted live images to Earth. But what about the other direction -- astronauts seeing live images of people on Earth?
Question: When did an astronaut in ...
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Are the Voyager probes radio output power scalable?
We know the RTGs will fail one day. Assuming Voyager probes have a full transmitter output power of 22 watts can/will this be scaled down as the need arises?
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How does automated docking work and why isn't it used more often?
It seems on every flight to the ISS for either people or just cargo, there is always a big deal over manual docking, lots of back and forth over comms, pinpointing the right spot, slowing down in a ...
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Does Russia still manufacture parts for their space program that would otherwise be obsolete?
The Russian space program is notable for continuing to use the same designs that have been successful for decades. For example, the Soyuz boosters and Soyuz crew vehicles in use today are still the ...
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How many antennas does Kurs use in toto, and what are each of their functions?
I learned about the Kurs docking system in this answer, then found out what they looked like in this and in this answer. Those images show several tiny dish antenna structures sticking out from ...
- 149k
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The first transistors in space: Germanium or Silicon? What about in orbit?
Certain people (me) will have hours of fun in the Transistor Museum website. Who can resist stuff like this: Historic Germanium Transistors; General Transistor/General Instrument (5MB pdf)?
I found ...
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What cosmic ray sensor is attached to this Balloon?
This short BBC News item shows a very large high altitude balloon lifting a science payload to measure high energy cosmic rays for about 100 days, circling the Earth perhaps twice in the process.
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Would it be possible to build a probe that could operate at about 480 °C (900F degrees) without insulation?
I read a question about cooling a Venus lander, and got to thinking that the problem was in building a probe that has no problem with Earthlike temperatures and pressures, then trying to insulate it ...
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