DovePig Ars Centurion
1y
6,274
mknelson said:
I was thinking gyroscopes, but see those stopped working in 2016.

Wikipedia notes: "Thrusters are supplied by a single 70-centimetre (28 in) diameter spherical titanium tank. It contained 100 kilograms (220 lb) of hydrazine at launch, providing enough fuel until 2034."
I am even much more in awe of the RCS mechanical valves, as even a hydrazine (or similar) propellent would probably still need some, as while you can apparently just run it over a rare metal catalyst screen to get it to decompose in a very exothermal reaction (these nitrogens really wanna go free!), you still have to push it through into the nozzle exactly when needed (and stop it when needed).

Come on, fifty years with a mechanical valve system in space? That still sounds awesome to me, even if IANARS! //

Needleroozer Smack-Fu Master, in training
10m
11
Subscriptor
Siosphere said:
How does Voyager 2 know where the earth is? Like how does it re-orient itself to earth?

What is it using as a reference point?
It appears to lock onto Canopus using a star-tracking system that rolls the spacecraft until a star of the appropriate intensity is detected, then maneuvers to stay centered on that star.

https://hackaday.com/2023/07/31/just-how-is-voyager-2-going-to-sort-out-its-dish-then/