35 Years Later, Voyager 1 Is Heading For the Stars

DevotedSkeptic writes with news that today is the 35th anniversary of Voyager 1's launch. (Voyager 2 reached the same anniversary on August 20.) Voyager 1 is roughly 18 billion kilometers from the sun, slowly but steadily pushing through the heliosheath and toward interstellar space. From the article: "Perhaps no one on Earth will relish the moment more than 76-year-old Ed Stone, who has toiled on the project from the start. 'We're anxious to get outside and find what's out there,' he said. When NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 first rocketed out of Earth's grip in 1977, no one knew how long they would live. Now, they are the longest-operating spacecraft in history and the most distant, at billions of miles from Earth but in different directions. ... Voyager 1 is in uncharted celestial territory. One thing is clear: The boundary that separates the solar system and interstellar space is near, but it could take days, months or years to cross that milestone. ... These days, a handful of engineers diligently listen for the Voyagers from a satellite campus not far from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which built the spacecraft. The control room, with its cubicles and carpeting, could be mistaken for an insurance office if not for a blue sign overhead that reads 'Mission Controller' and a warning on a computer: 'Voyager mission critical hardware. Please do not touch!' There are no full-time scientists left on the mission, but 20 part-timers analyze the data streamed back. Since the spacecraft are so far out, it takes 17 hours for a radio signal from Voyager 1 to travel to Earth. For Voyager 2, it takes about 13 hours."

Always the frontrunner?

[Coisiche]

It would be nice to think that one day we'll reach a technological level that allows us to overtake Voyager 1. I'm not that hopeful though. I think that the head start Voyager 1 has means that it always will be more remote from Earth than anything else constructed here. Excluding Pioneer 10, that is.

Re:You have to give it to the engineers

[khallow]

The problem is hard and easy. It's hard in that the primary problems of deep space spacecraft are very difficult, such as maintaining electronics for decades in an environment with hard radiation. But it's easy in that the environment doesn't change.

You engineer for a fixed problem. Once you have something that works for a time in deep space, then you can tweak that solution to greatly extend the lifespan.

Re:You have to give it to the engineers

[DevotedSkeptic]

You are definitely correct. It is amazing to think that technology from 35 years ago is still operating and sending back data. We generally don't keep cars around for 35 years let alone computers, phones, or even kitchen appliances. Now there is a world of difference between these things i mentioned and the tight tolerances that went into Voyager, but it still absolutely amazing what we as humans have accomplished. Carl Sagan would have been excited with the current Mars Rover, along with all of the other projects that we have successfully launched, but I think he would be a bit saddened by the state of the manned programs.

2020?

[hamvil]

In the article they say that Voyager has fuel until 2020. What is the fuel for? Communications? Or also for maneuvering? Which orbit will it follows after there is no more fuel?

Re:A trail of breadcrumbs

[SJHillman]

Odds are that they'll run out of fuel long before we lose communication and/or a relay craft could catch up enough to make a difference. They estimate about eight years left.

Waiting for the astounded scientists.

[Drethon]

Every time we have a new way of viewing the universe it seems like scientists get results mildly or completely different from what they expect. I'm looking forward to the possibility of the data coming back from Voyager completely conflicting with expectations and resulting in new theories.

Re:Always the frontrunner?

[jj00]

I've often thought about this, and while I don't know much about this stuff other than from a fan's perspective, I have always been curious why we don't send another Voyager-style craft into space every 10-20 years. Each craft could take advantage of improvements in our technology, and possibly be cheaper since it would be based on the same design. Each one could communicate back to the other instead of having to reach back to Earth on its own, kind of like a repeater. Also, if anything would go wrong with one of them, there would be another one not too far behind.

My grandfather would be proud...

[vjl]

I wish my grandfather was still alive to see Voyager 1 still in operation. He worked on the batteries and electrical system on the Voyager probes, spending most of his adult life working at JPL. He would be thrilled to know that they were both still operating, exploring, and sending data back to earth. Impressive!

Re:You have to give it to the engineers

[Just Some Guy]

Of course, even for some of those, 35 years is a stretch...

As an interesting counterexample, the B-52 Stratofortress [wikipedia.org] seems to be immortal:

B-52s are periodically refurbished at USAF maintenance depots such as Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Even while the Air Force works on its Next-Generation Bomber and 2037 Bomber projects, it intends to keep the B-52H in service until 2045, nearly 90 years after the B-52 first entered service and an unprecedented length of service for a military aircraft.

Also:

At least one B-52 aviator's father and grandfather also flew the [very same] bomber.