Voyager spacecraft, 1977

Published:

No gas stations or mechanics in space & too far from the sun to use solar power. Running on nuclear.

Designed to last ~12 years, still functioning after 30+ years.

Controlled by three CPUs, running as 6.4 MHZ (mega-, not giga-): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_1802

Considering the advances we've made since 1977...

... Detroit should be building cars that are better than anything else available, instead of getting their lunch eaten by foreign car makers. Angry

... These things are still running on their original fuel source and we're still importing (oil) energy ... why? Mad

(Locked)
Entry #233

Comments

Avatar Curious2k3 -
#1
No doubt. I vote you and I for President and V.P. My best answer...sheeple. They have us right where they want us. Under CONTROL.
Avatar jarasan -
#2
Great post! Thank you. Veeger Rocks Bach! Back then the budgets were focused on results, not pensions, benefits, or a$$hQ1e interfering politicians.

Do you realize if the car companies didn't have to spend so much on bennies and compliance for the "non-design" union side of "their" businesses, the MONEY they could dedicate to the R&D side?   We would have antigravity vehicles like the Jetsons.
Avatar four4me -
#3
I'll give you my best explanation i went to a GM plant back in the 70's. Trying to get a job in research and development on a scholarship program. What i saw in the boardroom was astonishing they had vehicles on the drawing board for the next twenty years. Futuristic looking vehicles compared to the muscle car era to say the least. The have to work with the EPA and the feds in every aspect of the car making industry to comply with fed regulations. There will never be any radioactive fuel in peoples vehicles in the foreseeable future.

They have no intention to jump 20 - 50 years ahead of the program a make some out of this world vehicle except as a concept car. Ever vehicle brought to the drawing board is in line of succession to the next vehicle and so on. If you ever get a chance to see the linage of the Fords, Chevy, and Chrysler products. You'll see that every vehicle has similarities from year to year. This is more about tooling than anything else to alter a vehicles component structure takes billions of dollars to retrofit the plants. The less they have to modify the more profit margin they can build.

So why are we still using the internal combustion engine. It's because if they put electric motors in cars. The electric motor would probably last 100 years or more before it would need replaced. Millions of people who make combustion engines and parts would be out of business as a whole except for aftermarket parts. It will eventually happen one day but they whole system will have to be modified before they put the combustion engine to bed forever.

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