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For those interested in learning more about the challenges in keeping the probes alive, the 2022 documentary It's Quieter in the Twilight follows the small, inc
by subract 3y ago
For those interested in learning more about the challenges in keeping the probes alive, the 2022 documentary It's Quieter in the Twilight follows the small, incredibly dedicated team working the project. Free to stream on Prime.
The simple fact that many of the original engineers are no longer alive presents significant challenges in and of itself.
- loloquwowndueo 3y ago[flagged]
- abfan1127 3y agoSome things are not free, even if you "have prime"... so if you have it already, then the cost is already paid... but that's a lot of words. perhaps "included with price of admission"
- dizhn 3y agoThey usually say "included in your prime membership".
- enlightens 3y agoPrime also has some shows you have to pay individually for above and beyond the subscription cost. This particular one is no extra cost, "free", once you have a subscription.
- orev 3y agoIf you have Prime, it’s free to stream, while other things on Prime might need you to pay to rent/purchase to watch it.
- Kwpolska 3y agoPrime Video is both a subscription service and a one-off rental* service. Prime subscribers get free access to some movies offered for rental. * Either short-term rental, or long-term rental described as a purchase.
- AlecSchueler 3y agoAnd don't forget the cost of your internet subscription, streaming drive and electricity usage.
- dpkirchner 3y agoWe must also remember to address the opportunity cost whenever we describe how to use a thing, else we're not specific enough.
- dgfitz 3y agoAs well as the cost of the food you ate to remain awake and conscience while viewing, as well as water (or whatever liquid one chooses to consume). The cost of the clothes possibly being worn during viewing, the cost of furniture being used, the cost of the abode hosting the furniture.
- ojosilva 3y agoI came to say the same, and post this link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vJT8AW0wYw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vJT8AW0wYw
- noelwelsh 3y agoThose ancient Sun machines take me back a bit!
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- Solvency 3y agoI fundamentally don't understand why this project is seemingly so poorly documented? I've read articles describing the current teams having to still reverse engineer things by scrutinizing random documents and sketches as if it's still this very unknown system.
- nonethewiser 3y agoI imagine its a problem of distance, feedback, and lack of any analogous test environment.
- xenadu02 3y agoThe project was not really designed to reach interstellar space originally. It was a somewhat rushed program to take advantage of the "Grand Tour" where the gas giants would all be aligned enough that a gravity-assist orbit could allow a spacecraft to fly by each of them. The alignment in question only happens every 175 years. The interstellar portion was an add-on after the success of the original mission. The spacecraft were still operating so why not just keep operating them? No one designing or building the probes imagined they'd still be operating 50+ years later. Even if they did space programs are constantly under threat from budget cuts so you can't exactly waste money on what-ifs for the future: you must focus on making the official mission succeed. Also remember that the "desktop PC" was not yet a thing when this was designed. Engineers were drawing everything on paper. Storage space was extremely expensive in any case. A modern program would (and most do!) put various versions of drawings in a version control system. Source would use an SCM so code history would be available. Even things like meeting notes would be available and searchable digitally.
- 0cf8612b2e1e 3y agoShouldn’t this software archeology have been done decades ago?
- xenadu02 2y agoBy then it was too late. Computer tapes were so expensive they were regularly overwritten after a certain number of years. Cheap storage is one of the most fundamental and under-appreciated game-changers. Another under-appreciated changes is standardization of computer architectures and formats. 8-bit bytes. ASCII/UTF-8. Even media formats which all largely follow the QuickTime style of different streams and atoms and so on even if the codecs change. In the 1970s none of this was true and everything was (by our standards) completely bespoke.
- andyjohnson0 3y agoLooks fascinating, but the only place I can find to watch it here in the uk is Prime Video. Does anyone know of legal options for those who don't want to give Amazon their money - still less sign up for a Prime subscription?
- greazy 3y agoTry one of the options listed here https://www.itsquieterfilm.com/where-to-watch https://www.itsquieterfilm.com/where-to-watch Most of the options don't offer the movie in my region :(
- mintycrisp 3y agoHere is the official list of options to see if any alternatives work for your location -> https://itsquieterfilm.com/where-to-watch https://itsquieterfilm.com/where-to-watch
- mbirth 3y agoEh, even Prime Video shows “This video is currently unavailable to watch in your location.”
- dylan604 3y agoThanks for the reco. I would have never found this browsing Prime hidden in all of their FreeVee push.
- chgs 3y agoI stopped my prime subscription after years (decade+?) because they decided to double dip and put in adverts. Such a shame. They’ve lost £360 so far from me based on my normal Amazon spending for their decision.
- dylan604 3y agoOh Nooooo! Bezos won't be able to make his yacht payments now!! Won't you think of the starving billionaires before making your kneejerk reactions. Nobody wants to be humiliated and drop out of the 3 commas club
- pbnjeh 3y agoIt has to start somewhere, and for many of us, that somewhere is in individual decisions. Interacting with Amazon is increasingly feeling like being worked over by a seedy breed of con artist. I just missed a good price (circa 25% off the normal price) because -- best guess -- a driver failed to deliver and now my order is stuck in their "running late" limbo that will see it eventually cancelled. It's hardly the first time, exactly this scenario of an abnormally good price effectively lost, and no call to customer service can fix it. In fact, the driver missed the delivery story is the explanation I've read somewhere, but the unerring correspondence with very favorable pricing leaves me feeling suspicious. I commend your decision, and your awareness of its impact.