Voyager space probe reaches edge of solar system

[left on green only]

44. The space mission was planned years in advance

There was one point in time when the planets would be in correct alignment to allow the shot to take place. The astronomers had the time of the launch calculated right down to the day and the hour.

Actually, I think I remember being told at one point that if we missed that window, there would be another, but less advantageous window (in terms of being able to accomplish all of the mission's goals) that would appear a short period of time after that, but no one ever talked about it; that is, until about midway along in the development process when we ran into design problems and we did not know if we could have those problems resolved in time.

Our contribution to the mission was so critical that for the length of the entire program, JPL had a fully staffed office of their own organization on premises to make certain that we were contractually providing them with what they needed. My role in my companies' effort was to fabricate and supply JPL with manuals containing "as built" vs "as designed" data, as well as the test results of every test that had been performed along every step of the way during the construction of every TWT that we built for the mission. As I recall, we built 22 X Band TWT's and 22 S Band TWT'S. They were all interchangeable inside the space craft so that right up until the last minute before launch, any of the TWT's could be chosen to be used, depending upon performance decisions that were made on how each part of the space craft was contributing to its' function as a whole.

The entire space mission was an exercise in perfection. Every inch of the development process had to be checked, rechecked and documented, along with an alternate method provided that could be used to eradicate any problem that might be encountered prior to launch. As you might guess, no expense was spared. I can even remember having been told that there were two launch rockets available on the pad at the Cape that could be switched out at the last minute, if need be.

As it was explained to me, no one has ever fully understood the physics behind how a TWT works, and the term "Black Magic" was used on more than one occasion to describe why some of the TWT's we built worked better than others. But they all had one minimum level that they were required to perform at in order to meet the criteria of the space mission.

In mid stream, during the height of the above mentioned performance problems that we encountered, JPL even brought in a world renowned traveling wave physicist to help solve the problem. Anyway, they worked it all out in time, and the rest is now history.

But in response to your statement that I must be amazed to know that something that I helped to build is now at the edge of the solar system, when I think back to how many people gave their all and worked so hard together on that space mission, I am not amazed at all at the success of what we can do together as a human race.

What do you think might have happened if we had used all of that money and effort to alleviate pain and suffering on this planet?