Voyager probes.
According to the U.S. "Time" magazine reports that the flight 34 years later, the United States Voyager 2 spacecraft on November 4 has the ground engineers instruction by switch to standby attitude control thrusters work to conserve energy to ensure that future missions to continue.
The main task has been completed.
August 1977 and September, NASA's "Voyager 1" and "Voyager 2" was launched flying Jupiter, then to Saturn. According to the plan, if we include the propeller, including the hardware could continue to work, the two detectors will be followed during a visit to Saturn, Uranus and Neptune went. "Voyager 2" was selected one less flight line, in 1989, arrived in the orbit of Neptune. "Voyager 1" is with Saturn gravity, choose the soil - wood line two planets in the solar system in flight.
Completed the two detectors are the primary task, the performance of their engineers constructed beyond the expected. Decades later, their mission continues, fly 330 million miles per year (about 530 million kilometers), and constantly refresh the human space flight made aircraft distance record. In November, NASA engineers announced that they developed new ways to save energy, ensure that "travelers" was the task to continue. That is, they will create a new space flight distance record. Ultimately, the "Voyager" was to fly to the solar system's most remote from the real into the interstellar space. NASA hopes "Voyager" was able to make this dream a reality.
Voyager probe in 1990 from 40 billion miles (about 64 billion km) images of the Earth in space outside the picture. Here the earth is only a dot.
Fly to the edge of the solar system.
No one knows exactly where the end of the solar system, the most reasonable estimate of 14 billion miles from the Sun (about 23 billion kilometers). This is a solar storm of charged particles - the solar wind can reach the most remote. About 14 billion miles between Earth and Pluto ("Voyager" was launched, or when a planet) the maximum distance is about 3 times. Exceeded 14 billion miles in front, "Voyager" was still flying for a long time.
"Game over" moment is approaching. "Voyager 1" is currently about 11 billion miles from Earth (about 18 billion kilometers), "Voyager 2" is currently 9 billion miles from Earth (about 14 billion kilometers). "Voyager 1" was returned in December 2010 data show that charged particles around seems to have stagnated, indicating that it is entering the final transition zone, and then will enter interstellar space. Astronomers of the model does not this "stagnation zone", so they can not predict the thickness of the wall that said particles.
"Voyager" was the project scientist - Eddie Stone said: "The results show that we are close to the boundaries of the solar system, but in the end how close it?"
"Voyager" was able to fly so far carried away should be attributed to the isotope temperature generator (hereinafter referred to as RTG), also known as micro-image of nuclear power plants. Pu-238 RTG used as fuel, estimated to be sufficient to ensure that the "Voyager" was flying for 50 years. If the current rate of consumption of fuel, this miniature nuclear power plant will stop functioning in 2025. laptop batteries.
In order to ensure that the "Voyager" was the task to continue, engineers have the command has two detector switches to the backup attitude control thrusters, these thrusters had never used. "Voyager 1" was ordered in 2004, when the main propulsion ignition 353,000 times already. "Voyager 2" was received on November 4 this year, the same command, and the main thruster has firing 318,000 times. Because the work is responsible for the main fuel line heater insulation can be turned off, switch to the attitude control thrusters will save about 12 watts of power consumption.
"Traveler" number has been flying for 34 years, about 12 watts of power at any given time, the total electricity consumption of about 5%, less than three lamp power consumption. It can be said, "Voyager" was developed in human history, the most durable spacecraft, and thus create a space flight distance record. Switch to the thruster command issued from the earth 186,000 miles per second (about 299,000 kilometers per second) transfer speed, reaching the "traveler" number takes 14 hours, the command confirmation message back to Earth and takes 14 hours. November 13, "Voyager 2" was confirmed for another signal to inform the work of normal propulsion engineers, 14 engineers returned only received confirmation.
"Voyager" was carrying gold-plated CD with photos, music and greetings from Earth.
Completely subsided, the "traveler" number will continue to serve as messengers Earth. They carry a 12 inch (30 cm) gold-plated copper discs, phonograph records like the past, there are pictures, music and greetings from Earth.
