Voyager 1 up and running again! 47 years and 15 BILLIONS miles from earth.

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REALLY amazing, just read this morning.
First keep in mind that Voyager 1 and 2 were never supposed to operate this long. AMAZING feat of technology 47 years ago when we led the world in everything.
For those not following some time ago this year or late last year they lost communication with Voyager 1. They suspected that its antenna lost its position facing earth. They tried forever and thought it maybe lost forever and that was ok except for the personal trying to save it. It has far exceeded it's lifetime. (see bottom link this was corrected in April 2024)

Well, amazing, this is a great short read. Through timed power management they were able to fire its thrusters and position the antenna properly sending signals 15 billion miles through space. Gosh, I tell you, as a nation, we need more of this stuff. It was a source of national pride. We should have been on Mars and beyond by now. 47 years ago was true engineering with rudimentary computers if even that.

I just love this stuff- (this is current)

I see that they solved a comm problem back in April 2024 that I was not aware but still needed to fire its thrusters in the above link.​

 
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Gosh, I tell you, as a nation, we need more of this stuff. It was a source of national pride.
I agree but its a whole different age now. Labor unions, CAFE mandates, activists, lawyers, OSHA, enviro restrictions, DEI hires, etc.

We have collectivly restricted and choked ourselves off.

 
As you say, this is absolutely amazing.

The article says that liquid hydrazine is converted to gas, and that is what is used by the thrusters for correcting Voyager 1's orientation. So the question occurred to me, how long much longer does NASA and JPL estimate that the hydrazine will last? From what I found, it is estimated that the hydrazine on Voyager 1 will last until 2040, but Voyager 2 will run out in 2034.

It will be interesting to see if running out of hydrazine is the final chapter on the Voyager probes, or if the problems they are having with the thrusters will be the end.
 
As you say, this is absolutely amazing.

The article says that liquid hydrazine is converted to gas, and that is what is used by the thrusters for correcting Voyager 1's orientation. So the question occurred to me, how long much longer does NASA and JPL estimate that the hydrazine will last? From what I found, it is estimated that the hydrazine on Voyager 1 will last until 2040, but Voyager 2 will run out in 2034.

It will be interesting to see if running out of hydrazine is the final chapter on the Voyager probes, or if the problems they are having with the thrusters will be the end.
Great post, thanks, I didn’t know the details but I didn’t know about those years you provided. I’m sure that must be the reason that you have given
 
Voyager 1 and 2 carried each 100 kg of hydrazine fuel when they were launched. Voyager 1 has about 14kg left which may last until 2040. Voyager 2 will run out of fuel around the mid-2030s. The three PU-238 -powered generators on each spacecraft have a half-life of just under 88 years but, due to diminishing power output, systems are shut down based on priorities. I was only a year old when the Voyager probes was launched. I do remember seeing the famous Time magazine cover with a picture of Saturn on it when I was four. I realized years later the text on the cover resembled the opening crawl from Star Wars.
 
Anhydrous Hydrazine is some nasty stuff. I handled lots of it in the Lab over the years. Excellent propellant though. Just don't inhale any of it or have any skin exposure.

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Just speculation on my part, but probably right on, though it would be nice if some one with a more specific background in transistor design backs up what I think with a verification:

Back in the day that Voyager 1 and 2 were designed, transistors were huge compared to today. While those relatively very large transistors use much more power than what is commonly used today, that huge size probably provided a lot of ability to withstand repeated hits from high-energy radiation particles. Damage a few atoms, and in the vast majority of cases those old transistors still function as if nothing had happened to them. Much smaller transistors like we commonly use today, probably would not be anywhere near as immune to that kind of damage, and would have too many failures. So, today's transistors would require an entirely different design of redundancy and protection to have a good chance of lasting that long.

Also, the old bipolar transistor design probably is much more immune to that kind of damage than today's low gate voltage FET transistors. The much smaller spaces of the gate region of low gate voltage FET transistors probably make today's transistors much more susceptible to catastrophic damage from high energy radiation.

Back in the day, it may be that all the above was not taken into account, and it was just luck that the design of transistors used back then are as immune to that kind of damage as they are. I don't think they were chosen back then for that reason, just because that is what was available.
 
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I wonder if they used Sta-bil fuel stabilizer to keep the fuel fresh? 😂

I love these stories as well - we were the leader at one time and now we have to beg for rides from other countries just to get to the space station and we have astronauts stranded there right now!
 
Awesome that these old dears are still up and running after more than four decades.
Both should make fifty years as functioning craft in communication with Earth.
Amazing how well designed these things apparently were as well as how determined their mission controllers have been to keep contact with them.
Will some intelligent alien species find them some day and marvel at them as we marvel at something like a Benz Velo or a Wright Flyer or even a V2 today?
 
What amazes me about Voyager discussion is the fact that these guys have been traveling for 47 years now. They are traveling at roughly 35000 MPH (10.5 Mi/Sec).
It has traveled 15 Billion miles in that time period. This example puts the amount of money we spend on our government into perspective and scope. (Not trying to be political in any way.) Such a good example to show just how big Millions, Billions, & Trillions really are.
Pretty amazing that we're back in communications with the spacecraft!
 
Awesome that these old dears are still up and running after more than four decades.
Both should make fifty years as functioning craft in communication with Earth.
Amazing how well designed these things apparently were as well as how determined their mission controllers have been to keep contact with them.
Will some intelligent alien species find them some day and marvel at them as we marvel at something like a Benz Velo or a Wright Flyer or even a V2 today?
That was a bit controversial back then. There are gold discs on those ships highlighting where we are in the constellation:galaxy.
I remember the debate at the time if we should disclose our location

Hey, you never know some advanced life form could come here and spray us with insecticide and take over the planet🧐
 
The way in which we spray out communications over a wide band of frequencies would mean that anyone out there already knows where we are.
Giving them a road map would hardly seem to make things any worse.
Then there is SETI, which intentionally targets various galaxies, so if they have the technology and the interest, they can easily find us. Heck, they could be on their way right now.
We seem to assume that extra-solar intelligent life would be peaceful and wise, but we should ask ourselves just how often has our own supposedly intelligent world not had armed conflict somewhere on some level throughout human history.
 
Maybe, like in Spaceballs, they will come to steal our atmosphere. Or, after listening to Johnny B Goode, will come for more Chuck Berry
 
We should have been on Mars and beyond by now. 47 years ago was true engineering with rudimentary computers if even that.
If you've never seen it, you might enjoy "For all Mankind"(AppleTV+)
It's an alternate history, where Russia beat us to the moon, and the space race never ended. ( And the Soviet Union didn't collapse)
They had a moonbase in the 70's, space hotel in the 80's, and a Mars colony in the 90's.
 
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