http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PNStat.html PIONEER MISSIONS Pioneer 10 distance from Sun: 77.21 AU Speed relative to the Sun: 12.24 km/sec (27,380 mph) Distance from Earth: 11.52 billion kilometers (7.16 billion miles) Round-trip Light Time: 21 hours, 20 minutes Pioneer 10 now has 5 one-way passes and 3 two-way round-trip light time (RTLT) passes scheduled from March through May. This should give us adequate coverage to contact the spacecraft or determine the reason why if contact has indeed been lost. We were able to schedule tracks on the busy DSN schedule to allow uplink and downlink support (competition for time includes Galileo, Cassini, and Ulysses). We will have to wait until April for the two-way RTLT passes, which allow the DSN to send up a strong stable signal to try to lock up with a coherent downlink signal. The effort is further complicated by the 21-hour RTLT. There are other downlink-only attempts scheduled starting in a few weeks. Project Phoenix is observing Pioneer 10 at Arecibo in Puerto Rico through the auspices of the SETI Institute. Their observation dates are from Feb 26 to March 5 and from March 8 through 18, about one hour each night. Larry Lasher, Pioneer Project Manager [EMAIL PROTECTED] == You are subscribed to the Europa Icepick mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Project information and list (un)subscribe info: http://klx.com/europa/
