Pioneer 10 Contacted
23 Jul 2002
(Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
http://spaceprojects.arc.nasa.gov/Space_Projects/pioneer/PNStat.html
Pioneer 10 distance from Sun : 80.82 AU
Speed relative to the Sun: 12.24 km/sec (27,380 mph)
Distance from Earth: 12.21 billion kilometers (7.59 billion miles)
Round-trip Light Time: 22 hours 37 minutes
There was another Pioneer 10 contact on Sunday, 7/14/02. The Deep Space Station (DSS) near Madrid (DSS-63) found the signal but was unable to consistently lock onto the receiver. The signal level was reported at -185 dBm, just about at the threshold value. During the three hours pass, lock could only be held for about a minute. The uplink from DSS-14 at Goldstone, sent Saturday, 7/13/02, confirmed that the spacecraft signal is still there (Round Trip Light Time 3D 22 hr 38 min).
LARRY LASHER, PIONEER PROJECT MANAGER