Voyager 1 reaches previously unexplored region of space

[seamusTX]

The Voyager 1 spacecraft, after traveling over 10 billion miles from earth in 33 years, has entered a region of space where the solar wind has no measurable speed.

No other spacecraft has gone this far. Voyager 2 will reach the same distance in a few years.

Both Voyagers were launched in 1977 and have far exceeded their design specifications. Some the measurements they made changed astronomic theories.

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la- ... 7696.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/n ... 01213.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Unless science fiction in the Star Trek vein becomes possible, no human being will ever catch up to these primitive space probes, launched in the era of the Apple II personal computer.

- Jim

[stash]

The trip of Voyager 1&2 really is very interesting. I guess they could go on forever. To think, they are so far away and we still have contact with them. I read a couple weeks ago that the radio signal takes about 10 or 12 hours to reach them. A couple of months ago we had Voyager 1 turn its camera around and take a picture of home (earth). In the picture earth looked like a little blue dot. To think, they are so far away and it will still take them a long long time for them to leave our galaxy. This whole Voyager thing to me is amazing.

[OldSchool]

Yes, finally found the heliopause. Now, to see how quickly the stellar wind picks up past that point. The data will continue to come, but more and more slowly.

One more thing for my class next term to deal with....

[seamusTX]

Voyager 1 recently reached a region in space where the solar wind (emitted by the sun) dropped off and the level of cosmic particles coming from outside increased. This area was not predicted by astronomical theory.

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/obs ... ar-medium/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We got our money's worth out of the Voyagers (and I do mean "our," since I was a federal taxpayer by the time they were launched in 1977). They put the Energizer Bunny to shame.

- Jim

[philip964]

V'Ger!

[JJVP]

V'Ger!

Yeah. Just wait till they come back as V'Ger.

[seamusTX]

If I'm still around in the 23rd century, I can deal with it.

- Jim

[The Annoyed Man]

My FIL was a gyroscope specialist, and he built the guidance package for Voyager I on his workbench in his lab at JPL. He also built the guidance packages for Voyager II and pretty much every other unmanned exploratory spacecraft built by JPL until Casini, which was his last project before he retired.

I have a funny story about the Galileo guidance package involving my FIL.....who was an eminently practical man. When he still had the finished Galileo package on his workbench and his crew was gearing up for Casini, the project director came to him and asked him to design a set of removable handles that could be bolted to the Galileo package so that it could be picked up from the workbench and set down elsewhere to clear space on the bench so they could start on Casini's package. Apparently the thing was large enough that it took two men to lift it safely without risking dropping it. So the project director budgeted X thousands of dollars for machining costs and materials to accommodate his request and left if up to Bob (my FIL) to solve the problem.

About a week or so later, the project director dropped by Bob's office and noticed a 4' long piece of 2" wooden dowel leaning up in the corner of his office, and he asked Bob what it was for. Well, it was the "handle" to pick up and carry the Galileo package with. It seems that the physical architecture of the device had a sort of hole all the way through it, so Bob figured he could just go to the local Ace Hardware and buy the dowel for $1.29/foot......or whatever the price was.....and if you ran that dowel through the middle of the Galileo package, two men could each grab an end of the dowel and hoist the package up off the bench and set it down out of the way. He spent a total of $5.00-$6.00 on the job instead of the $10,000 budgeted for it. The rest of the team, also being engineers to the bone, recognized the elegance of the solution and that was the end of development on that particular request from the director. They never did make the bolt-on handles machined from exotic metals. Didn't need to.

I found out about this when my wife and I attended his retirement party after 40 years at JPL. They handed him that very piece of dowel, with a "Remove Before Flight" flag pinned to it, as a retirement gift.....and that's when the presenter told the assemblage about that particular story. If you knew Bob, you'd just smile because that was so him.

[Jaguar]

Cool story TAM, as a manufacturing engineer I have over designed more than my share of stuff. I worked with a great guy who always managed to find the simple solutions I overlooked, and he was willing to give advice. I learned more brainstorming with him than anywhere else. He retired a last year, I miss him a great deal.

[Wodathunkit]

Just imagine if the voyagers could stop, turn around, and come back here in 35 years. Our grandchildren could take the information on board and maybe make a device to play what ever was recorded on that golden "thingy" (record/LP)!

[seamusTX]

It was basically "we come in peace" in several hundred languages, along with the least interesting nude figures in the history of art. I'm sure there's a copy of it in a museum somewhere. Otherwise we can wait until it comes back in a giant menacing cloud broadcasting cosmic drumbeats.

Just this morning I read that somebody made another record of that sort and attached it to a geosynchronous satellite. He wanted to do it so that when we destroy the earth (in his world view) there would be something left as a souvenir for the Martians or whomever. Actually the future denizens of Europa are more likely to show up in a couple of billion years.

- Jim

[Abraham]

ALL THESE WORLDS
ARE YOURS EXCEPT
EUROPA
ATTEMPT NO
LANDING THERE
USE THEM TOGETHER
USE THEM IN PEACE

[seamusTX]

Different fictional universe, but that's the idea.

Abraham is referring to 2010, the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey. And I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am with the future that didn't happen.

- Jim

[The Annoyed Man]

It was basically "we come in peace" in several hundred languages, along with the least interesting nude figures in the history of art. I'm sure there's a copy of it in a museum somewhere. Otherwise we can wait until it comes back in a giant menacing cloud broadcasting cosmic drumbeats.

Just this morning I read that somebody made another record of that sort and attached it to a geosynchronous satellite. He wanted to do it so that when we destroy the earth (in his world view) there would be something left as a souvenir for the Martians or whomever. Actually the future denizens of Europa are more likely to show up in a couple of billion years.

- Jim

The "Nudes" were on the Pioneer spacecraft:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pioneer_plaque#Criticism

Here is what was put on Voyager I, from the NASA website (http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/spacecraft/goldenrec.html, http://webodysseum.com/art/116-images-o ... en-record/):



There are apparently 116 images stored on the record, although I am not familiar with the technology which would allow you to convert an audio signal to an image (unless it is something like FAX technology or something). Some of those images are on the WebOdysseum page linked above.

[jimlongley]

Being a ham and somewhat fascinated with weak signal work, I see this as the ultimate in QRP DX.

It's not converting an audio signal to an image, it is merely recording the analog signal for the image.