From: nospam@oddhack.engr.sgi.com   
      
   In article <323f419b.0402151532.7ba8619d@posting.google.com>,   
   Mark Rejhon  wrote:   
   >This harkens back to a bandwidth-upgrade accomplishment that I   
   >remember well.  In the 1990's, I recall the breakthroughs that were   
   >necessary in order to cram data through Galileo's low gain antenna at   
   >Jupiter, after the high gain antenna failed to open after repeated   
   >attempts.   If I remember correctly, the 16 bits/sec (max) low-gain   
   >antenna was upgraded well beyond spec via software to perform up to   
   >160 bits/sec (max) uncompressed rate, plus various compression   
   >algorithms (both lossy and lossless) were implemented, to achieve the   
   >equivalent of approximately 1 kilobits/sec rate average.   The literal   
   >engineering accomplishment of a very difficult "cramming as many   
   >elephants as possible through a drinking straw as quickly as possible"   
   >problem, so to speak.   
      
       When they originally announced plans for the low-gain antenna   
   Gailleo mission, 3 techniques were emphasized:   
      
     - improving reception by arraying DSN antennas and installing more   
       sensitive receivers.   
     - lossless and lossy data compression for non-imaging and imaging   
       data, respectively.   
     - better ECC allowing higher data rates and lower error rates.   
      
       AIUI compression is pretty standard on contemporary missions.   
      
       Jon   
       __@/   
      
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