What is Digg?68 Comments
- Travisncs, on 03/20/2008, -2/+40does the moon count as orbiting satellite?
- tonyscha, on 03/20/2008, -0/+15They just dont make them like they use to... This applies to everything
- geekchic, on 03/20/2008, -0/+11welcome to tin-foil hat land.
- noahhoward, on 03/20/2008, -2/+12Amen brother, the government thinks they can hide that nuclear missile satellite that they launch during the revolutionary war. That warmonger Gerorge Washington was power hungry, he used the satellite to push back the empires to pave the way for the United States of Making You Our Bitch. It's a conspiracy man.
- geekchic, on 03/20/2008, -2/+10It does, but it isn't an artificial satellite though.
- lasermike026, on 03/20/2008, -0/+7Maybe it should be captured for historical preservation.
- robertgoodwin, on 03/20/2008, -0/+5Actually, the headline should read "oldest orbiting artificial satellite".
- annflower, on 03/20/2008, -2/+7Happy birthday, Satelite ))
- imnojezus, on 03/20/2008, -0/+5Seems you are unfamiliar with the way things worked during the space race. If someone built a really big slingshot and managed to get a rusty bolt to arc out of the atmosphere for a millisecond, the entire world would have heard about it, at length.
- sporg, on 03/20/2008, -0/+5We are too busy spending all our cash in Iraq and bailing out wall street firms.
- moletimer, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4No, you're clearly just not any good at it.
- brstilson, on 03/20/2008, -0/+4They're leaving it for the Klingons.
(DISCLAIMER: anyone who corrects my reference with "but he shot down a VOYAGER probe!" is an epic nerd) - getoffmybridge, on 05/05/2009, -2/+6SHOOT IT DOWN!
- wyrdness, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3It only worked for six years, it's just been orbiting junk for the last 44.
- tonyscha, on 03/20/2008, -2/+5FAIL
- majordanger, on 03/20/2008, -0/+3Well, sorry to burst your nostalgia bubble, but even though it's still in a high orbit after 50 years, the battery died about 6 months after launch.Vanguard continued to transmit intermittently on solar power for another 6 years. It could only report on-board temperature, In contrast,a modern GPS satellites designed for 5 years service typically transmit accurate time and location for more than 12 years.With a 12,000 mile orbit, they will not re-enter for a thousand years at least.
- redcatalina, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Not man made.
- colonelpanic, on 03/20/2008, -1/+3beat me to it.
- xptweakerntn, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Really? Because I thought for sure the moon was older than my father...
- edwartica, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Hey, leave geekchic alone, he's obviously confused about his gender.
- eanbowman, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2I wonder why the 5mW transmitter died after 6 years if it's solar powered? Did it corrode or its parts age too much? I've heard of old decommissioned satellites which hobbyists still communicate with from earth when they pass overhead. I guess the first few generations of satellites weren't very resilient.
- twoboxen, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2More proof that the extended warranty is a sham!
- JorgeGT, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2It could be a good idea, also good way to test how materials decay due space navigation and such...
Maybe launch another small satellite (like a cubesat) to catch it and drag it to the ISS to be sent home? - inactive, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Space debris maybe, natural stuff.
- lamiaconfitor, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2You must think everyone is stupid. In the name of everyone, screw you.
- troycott, on 03/20/2008, -1/+350 yrs? that seems like a pretty reliable piece of space equipment.
- hokie47, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2I don't think it had a processor.
- inactive, on 03/20/2008, -0/+2Back in my day we used to have to travel 8,689.7 km to get to school.... in the snow!
- alanbradin, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Hey, another billion-dollar piece of technology we can turn into a clay pidgeon for target practice!
- joelito, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1More like were shot down by V-Ger
- ligyron, on 03/20/2008, -1/+2Old satellite is old
- noahhoward, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1It's a historical piece. Though I would love to see the rail-gun tested against something in space.
- OneLess, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Because an article about a 50 year old satellite is really out of date a few months from when it was written...
- Oldschoolhack, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1I wonder what is processing power is...
- Extraneous, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1It's orbit will decay before they can get the funding to do so.
- surKaz, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1"Back in my day....."
- randysouth, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Peter Griffin has a ways to catch up:
http://thatvideosite.com/video/1286 - limevelyn, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Wow...this is amazing....this junk is even older than I am!!
- mordero, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Nope, Sputnik 1 burned up on re-entry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1 - leoedin, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1There was news 5 years ago when it was 45 as well...
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/satellite-tech-03c. ...
I wonder if the wikipedia section will still be around at its 100th anniversary. - wincent, on 01/19/2009, -0/+1it is older than me
- brstilson, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1I knew that........it was a test
yeah.....a test
nerd - Alfadir, on 03/21/2008, -0/+1It was launched on the same day I was born, though 29 years earlier
- lamiaconfitor, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1I love how people think they are smart when they state something everyone knows already. Every high schooler in the universe knows sputnik was the first, but it ISN'T there any more!!!
- orlandorays, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Voyager 1 and 2, launched in 1977, design lifetimes 5 years, still in operation after 30+.
Pioneer 6, launched in 1965, design lifetime 6 months, was still in operation in 2006, and is still believed to be active.
The current Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, only had a design lifetime of 90 days from landing. They are still working after over 4 years on Mars, surviving winters far colder than on Earth and several choking dust storms.
Today's satellites are far better than the originals. They have to be good just to survive launch. - seobro, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1An organic molecule CH3
- majordanger, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1With Sputnik's low perigree of only 215 km (134 miles), atmospheric drag would cause any booster debris to re-enter within months.
- majordanger, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1it contained oscillators that would drift with temperature around 108 Mhz. Not much processing power there.
- nakile, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1Actually, it was one of the Pioneer probes.
- majordanger, on 03/20/2008, -0/+1This gadget inspired Detroit hood ornaments for at least 5 years.
For you fellow radioheads out there that want to listen to recordings of 1950's vintage tumbling, orbiting ,oscillators including
the Vanguard I ..here is the link:
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/features/sounds/firstsa ... -
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