Voyager I At The Edge of the Heliosphere | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.21.25

Airborne-NextGen-04.22.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.23.25

Airborne-FltTraining-04.24.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.25.25

Sun, Nov 09, 2003

Voyager I At The Edge of the Heliosphere

Can You Hear Me Now? Good.

Call it the little space probe that could, designed to last just five years. Twenty-six years later, still ticking.

"This little engine that could was not designed for this kind of lifetime," said Louis Lanzerotti.  He's a Bell Labs expert on solar wind who has been involved with the Voyager program since 1972. "It's absolutely remarkable."

Along with its sister ship, Voyager II, Voyager I has been on an incredible journey, now more than 90 AU (astronomical units -- the distance between the Earth and Sun) away now, it continues to function. It passed the outer reaches of the heliosphere, the area of space directly influenced by our sun. Yet it continues to faithfully send data.

"We do have enough electrical power, if nothing breaks on the spacecraft, we can continue till 2020," said Edward Stone. He's a Voyager scientist at the California Institute of Technology. a Voyager project scientists based at the California Institute of Technology, said at a briefing at NASA headquarters.

Some scientists believe the probe has entered interstellar space, a place beyond the solar winds. Others say that crossing won't take place until 2020 or thereabouts. Voyager carries a solid gold record offering greetings from all of mankind in its various languages, just in case a passing stranger wanders by.

After leaving the solar neighborhood, both Voyager spacecraft veered away from the plane in which all planets reside. Voyager I went "up," while Voyager II went "down."

FMI: www.jpl.nasa.gov

Advertisement

More News

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.24.25)

"This enables all parts of the digital portfolio to focus on their strengths. Our commitment to meeting our customers' needs is unwavering as we move forward with our core products>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.24.25)

Aero Linx: National Aeronca Association We are dedicated to supporting the design and preserving the history of Aeronca aircraft. Founded by Jim Thompson and fostered by his leader>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Cessna 180

Pilot’s Failure To Maintain Clearance From The Water During A Low Pass Over A Lake Analysis: The pilot reported that he descended to make a low pass over Pettit Lake. He note>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.24.25): Downburst

Downburst A strong downdraft which induces an outburst of damaging winds on or near the ground. Damaging winds, either straight or curved, are highly PCG D−3 Pilot/Controller>[...]

Airborne-Flight Training 04.24.25: GA Refocused, Seminole/Epic, WestJet v TFWP

Also: Cal Poly Aviation Club, $$un Country, Arkansas Aviation Academy, Teamsters Local 2118 In response to two recent general aviation accidents that made national headlines, more >[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC