undefined | Better HN

0 pointsRetroTechie2y ago0 comments

3. Use relays.

Of course that would mean sending (a) giant receiver dish(es) in the general direction a probe is sent. On the flip side, if using a single relay it could travel at roughly 1/2 the speed of the probe.

Note that signal strength weakens with distance^2. So if eg. you'd have 2 relays (1/3 and 2/3 between Earth & the probe), each relay would receive 9x stronger signal.

No doubt the 'logistics' (trajectory, gravity assist options, mission cost etc) make this impractical. But it is an option.

0 comments

1 comments · 1 top-level

ethbr12y ago

That'd be really cool! And definitely helped by the fact that you'd only need to head out at a fraction of Voyagers speeds to get the benefit.

There's some details on the Voyager gravity-assist mechanics here [0], but you'd also need the escape trajectory to be pointed in the Voyager direction which would further constrain...

That said, Earth-Jupiter-Saturn alignments don't seem that rare (on a decades scale).

[0] http://www.gravityassist.com/IAF3-2/Ref.%203-143.pdf

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse