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The carrier wave that heard Mariner 5 and ignored every command
An operator in California locks onto Mariner 5’s carrier wave in October 1968, the probe answers but ignores every command-did they make contact in time?
The carrier wave that heard Mariner 5 and ignored every command
In this episode, we follow the months-long journey of a spacecraft rebuilt from a spare, sent toward Venus, and then heard again after months of silence. What changed between its June launch and that October carrier lock, and what does a probe that can hear but not respond actually mean?
Person: Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers
Date: June 14, 1967; October 14, 1968
Location…
The skinny
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