Tue Sep 4, 2012, 06:40 AM

35 years later, Voyager 1 is heading for the stars

Source: AP-Excite

By ALICIA CHANG

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) - Thirty-five years after leaving Earth, Voyager 1 is reaching for the stars.

Sooner or later, the workhorse spacecraft will bid adieu to the solar system and enter a new realm of space - the first time a manmade object will have escaped to the other side.

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.

FULL story at link.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20120904/DA12T06O1.html

This artists rendering provided by NASA shows the Voyager spacecraft. Launched in 1977, the twin spacecraft are exploring the edge of the solar system. Thirty-five years after leaving Earth, Voyager 1 is reaching for the stars. Sooner or later, the workhorse spacecraft will bid adieu to the solar system and enter a new realm of space _ the first time a man-made object will have escaped to the other side. (AP Photo/NASA)

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67 replies	Author	Time	Post
35 years later, Voyager 1 is heading for the stars (Original post)	Omaha Steve	Sep 2012	OP
just amazing when you consider the way they must control it - with all the old bells & whistles	tomm2thumbs	Sep 2012	#1
Actually, sonny, we used to get up off the couch and turn the dial on the tv set...	rfranklin	Sep 2012	#3
heh heh heh -	tomm2thumbs	Sep 2012	#4
I remember those. And my grandmother used to have a crystal candy bowl...	Ian David	Sep 2012	#23
omg - that must've been hilarious the day you figured that out	tomm2thumbs	Sep 2012	#32
My dad had three remote controls...	awoke_in_2003	Sep 2012	#21
Geesh - I must be old. 38.	mwooldri	Sep 2012	#22
I remember when	Missycim	Sep 2012	#24
Heck, our first TV wth a remote had a wire!	Archae	Sep 2012	#38
In 1960, we rented a modest shore house in NJ but it had an electric antenna!	rfranklin	Sep 2012	#44
I will admit we could have got more channels when I was younger.	mwooldri	Sep 2012	#57
Worse than that	oldsarge54	Sep 2012	#65
No full-time staff on the job.	enough	Sep 2012	#17
Must be lots ot trips to the surplus JPL hardware bins to get parts	tomm2thumbs	Sep 2012	#31
Delete.	roamer65	Sep 2012	#54
What's powering the spacecraft...too far for solar power isn't it?	rfranklin	Sep 2012	#2
Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) n/t	Wilms	Sep 2012	#7
Nuclear-powered. Each has an eight-track tape recorder. And 68 kilobytes of memory.	Auggie	Sep 2012	#5
We're sending eight-track tapes to the stars?	JustABozoOnThisBus	Sep 2012	#11
You know whats sad?	Missycim	Sep 2012	#25
Also read as "GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!" :P	octothorpe	Sep 2012	#47
I am only 42 I will have you know :p	Missycim	Sep 2012	#48
I've worked with a robotic 8-track system before...	Ian David	Sep 2012	#26
I dont remember that far back but I think either I had one of these or a friend did. lol	Missycim	Sep 2012	#49
We also sent a gold plated 70's era laser disc	daleo	Sep 2012	#64
"To boldly go where no man has gone before..."	Surya Gayatri	Sep 2012	#6
And	oldsarge54	Sep 2012	#8
It's not set in an orbit. It won't be coming back unless we somehow retrieved it.	Fearless	Sep 2012	#13
You didn't see the first Star Trek movie?	Missycim	Sep 2012	#27
Lol, I hadn't thought of that. Touche'	Fearless	Sep 2012	#41
Worst costume design I have ever seen	Missycim	Sep 2012	#42
Shudders	Fearless	Sep 2012	#45
Sorry	oldsarge54	Sep 2012	#29
It'll have Firewire ports N/T	tonekat	Sep 2012	#63
We might	christx30	Sep 2012	#67
V'ger . . . nt	Bernardo de La Paz	Sep 2012	#9
I will just give up the information N/T	Throckmorton	Sep 2012	#12
Sorry	Missycim	Sep 2012	#28
Harse Mistress reference	oldsarge54	Sep 2012	#30
Adam Selene will speak at the Democratic Convention, I hope. nt	Bernardo de La Paz	Sep 2012	#35
Or Prof	Paulie	Sep 2012	#46
We'll see it again, perhaps. We simply need to master fusion energy and new propulsion drives.	Selatius	Sep 2012	#10
Ahhh, the good old minimal tech days.	geckosfeet	Sep 2012	#14
Actually, that was Maximal Tech ....	Mustellus	Sep 2012	#16
Of course. But engineers always strive to sqeeze the last bit of performance out of everything.	geckosfeet	Sep 2012	#19
11 billion mile message in a bottle	IADEMO2004	Sep 2012	#15
Great stuff. I also recommend a visit to the Voyager mission page at NASA:	Robb	Sep 2012	#18
At Voyager's speed it would take 50,000 years to reach the nearest star	Baclava	Sep 2012	#20
re:35 years later, Voyager 1 is heading for the stars	allan01	Sep 2012	#33
re:35 years later, Voyager 1 is heading for the stars	allan01	Sep 2012	#34
I thought Pioneer 10 had already left the solar system...	EX500rider	Sep 2012	#36
Nope. Voyager is faster.	AtheistCrusader	Sep 2012	#39
Massive scale of the universe. Nearest star is 270,000 AU away	SWTORFanatic	Sep 2012	#50
I'm heading to a presentation about the Voyagers at JPL tonight.	Kablooie	Sep 2012	#37
I'm jealous!	neverforget	Sep 2012	#52
Here's a video of the whole presentation.	Kablooie	Sep 2012	#58
and no sign of heaven yet LOL	snooper2	Sep 2012	#40
sad we never used nuclear pulse propulsion. we could still get to alpha centauri in my lifetime	SWTORFanatic	Sep 2012	#43
Those 2 spacecraft amaze me.	Odin2005	Sep 2012	#51
Video Tribute to a lonely Space Probe	ThoughtCriminal	Sep 2012	#53
I am assuming that New Horizons will eventually overtake the Voyagers...maybe?	roamer65	Sep 2012	#55
Voyager's doing 17km/sec to New Horizon's 13 or 14. (nt)	Posteritatis	Sep 2012	#56
You can view the daily current Voyager data on the web.	Kablooie	Sep 2012	#59
That's what can happen when "planned obsolesence" is taken out of the equation	Duer 157099	Sep 2012	#60
Voyager is one of the best things we've done	burrowowl	Sep 2012	#61
who said 8-track tapes would not come back?	ChairmanAgnostic	Sep 2012	#62
A beacon of our existence...nt	and-justice-for-all	Sep 2012	#66

Response to Omaha Steve (Original post)

Tue Sep 4, 2012, 06:44 AM

tomm2thumbs (9,187 posts)

1. just amazing when you consider the way they must control it - with all the old bells & whistles

must be like changing channels on the TV with a hairdryer

35 years later, Voyager 1 is heading for the stars

1. just amazing when you consider the way they must control it - with all the old bells & whistles

3. Actually, sonny, we used to get up off the couch and turn the dial on the tv set...

4. heh heh heh -

23. I remember those. And my grandmother used to have a crystal candy bowl...

32. omg - that must've been hilarious the day you figured that out

21. My dad had three remote controls...

22. Geesh - I *must* be old. 38.

24. I remember when

38. Heck, our first TV wth a remote had a wire!

44. In 1960, we rented a modest shore house in NJ but it had an electric antenna!

57. I will admit we could have got more channels when I was younger.

65. Worse than that

17. No full-time staff on the job.

31. Must be lots ot trips to the surplus JPL hardware bins to get parts

54. Delete.

2. What's powering the spacecraft...too far for solar power isn't it?

7. Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) n/t

5. Nuclear-powered. Each has an eight-track tape recorder. And 68 kilobytes of memory.

11. We're sending eight-track tapes to the stars?

25. You know whats sad?

47. Also read as "GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!" :P

48. I am only 42 I will have you know :p

26. I've worked with a robotic 8-track system before...

49. I dont remember that far back but I think either I had one of these or a friend did. lol

64. We also sent a gold plated 70's era laser disc

6. "To boldly go where no man has gone before..."

8. And

13. It's not set in an orbit. It won't be coming back unless we somehow retrieved it.

27. You didn't see the first Star Trek movie?

41. Lol, I hadn't thought of that. Touche'

42. Worst costume design I have ever seen

45. *Shudders*

29. Sorry

63. It'll have Firewire ports N/T

67. We might

9. V'ger . . . nt

12. I will just give up the information N/T

28. Sorry

30. Harse Mistress reference

35. Adam Selene will speak at the Democratic Convention, I hope. nt

46. Or Prof

10. We'll see it again, perhaps. We simply need to master fusion energy and new propulsion drives.

14. Ahhh, the good old minimal tech days.

16. Actually, that was Maximal Tech ....

19. Of course. But engineers always strive to sqeeze the last bit of performance out of everything.

15. 11 billion mile message in a bottle

18. Great stuff. I also recommend a visit to the Voyager mission page at NASA:

20. At Voyager's speed it would take 50,000 years to reach the nearest star

33. re:35 years later, Voyager 1 is heading for the stars

34. re:35 years later, Voyager 1 is heading for the stars

36. I thought Pioneer 10 had already left the solar system...

39. Nope. Voyager is faster.

50. Massive scale of the universe. Nearest star is 270,000 AU away

37. I'm heading to a presentation about the Voyagers at JPL tonight.

52. I'm jealous!

58. Here's a video of the whole presentation.

40. and no sign of heaven yet LOL

43. sad we never used nuclear pulse propulsion. we could still get to alpha centauri in my lifetime

51. Those 2 spacecraft amaze me.

53. Video Tribute to a lonely Space Probe

55. I am assuming that New Horizons will eventually overtake the Voyagers...maybe?

56. Voyager's doing 17km/sec to New Horizon's 13 or 14. (nt)

59. You can view the daily current Voyager data on the web.

60. That's what can happen when "planned obsolesence" is taken out of the equation

61. Voyager is one of the best things we've done

62. who said 8-track tapes would not come back?

66. A beacon of our existence...nt

22. Geesh - I must be old. 38.

45. Shudders