Voyager 2 Celebrates 45 Years of "Boldly Going" Today

On August 20, 1977 Voyager 2 launched into space on its mission to discover what is out there in the great expanse and to deliver ET all the information they need to know about us to make a tasty meal , 45 years later the little spacecraft that could , did , and now 12.1 billion miles from home it travels in interstellar space continuing to do science and retaining its crown of NASA's longest serving mission.

Considering that in 1997 the microprocessor was a relatively new thing and the first line of publicly available computers like the Commodore PET were astounding Earthlings with their 1 MHz processors and massive 8 KB of memory Voyager 2 was fairly well stacked with its 69.63 kilobytes of memory and digital 8-track tape able to store one jpeg image before sending it back home at 160 bits per second , a slow dial-up connection here on Earth can deliver at least 20,000 bits per second.

Even though by todays standards Voyager 2 has less power that your microwave oven it still managed to send back stunning images of planets in our Solar system as it made its way out into the great unknown of interstellar space , this image of the Great Red Spot was sent back following Voyager's flyby of Jupiter in 1979.


Sadly Voyager 2 is expected to run out of power by 2025 but it will continue its journey looking for somewhere to deliver its message that we were here.

Happy anniversary Voyager 2 and congratulations to NASA on the continuing success of their most ancient mission.

It's still not far enough away from the bow shock but damn if ee only equipped it in some way to analyze the interstellar medium and the dark matter.

a reply to: gortex

They forgot to put solar panels on it.. how sad

a reply to: Spacespider

Would not be much of a use after it leaves the solar system, would be my first guess, instead of them simply forgetting it.

a reply to: Spacespider

Don't think solar panels would be any use as it's so far from the Sun now.

originally posted by: Spacespider
They forgot to put solar panels on it.. how sad

Took that long traveling at that speed just to get away from the sun's influence, intergalactic space is further still but the region it is entering now before it enters the oort cloud blends in with the void of the intergalactic region.

Intergalactic space is quite terrifying, out there where there's no stars, but there's always something shining thru it.

Considering how many galaxies are in the universe I cant help but wonder if IG space would look like our night sky if one was able to transport themselves there...

a reply to: gortex

About 39,955 years to reach the edge of the Oort Cloud and another 40,000 years to the next star. Space is big.

a reply to: iamthevirus

Considering how many galaxies are in the universe I cant help but wonder if IG space would look like our night sky if one was able to transport themselves there...

It would so much more than we can see here. Have been out in the middle of no where, days away from the nearest city, few hours away from the nearest town. The night sky is magnificent, oceans of stars. So much more than the few stars one can see when living in the city.

As for the view voyager has today, happy birthday you rusty tin box. NASA was in a golden age back then. Maybe one day you will return, maybe not? Wherever you end up, you carry the dreams of many while providing some clarity to the nature of nature. Thanks.

a reply to: gortex

There's a Voyager Twitter account that gives updates on it.

@NSFVoyager2

It's not an official account, but it's cool. It says it's currently a little over 18 hours of light speed travel from earth.

Kind of crazy that after 45 years, it's not even 1 light day away.

originally posted by: gortex
Considering that in 1997 the microprocessor was a relatively new thing and the first line of publicly available computers like the Commodore PET were astounding Earthlings with their 1 MHz processors and massive 8 KB of memory Voyager 2 was fairly well stacked with its 69.63 kilobytes of memory and digital 8-track tape able to store one jpeg image before sending it back home at 160 bits per second , a slow dial-up connection here on Earth can deliver at least 20,000 bits per second.

what a load of BS.

but as usual, throwing a bunch of technical mumbo-jumbo together leaves ignorant majority salivating, when the fact is, you have no idea what you're talking about.

Great thread, gortex.
I found an interesting vid about "The Voyager Golden Records".

a reply to: jedi_hamster

And what, exactly, are you talking about?

originally posted by: Oldcarpy2
a reply to: jedi_hamster

And what, exactly, are you talking about?

He's being a smartass. I damn near spit out my coffee when I read the comment, I was lmao.
(I'm assuming jedi_hamster is a 'he'.)

originally posted by: Oldcarpy2
a reply to: jedi_hamster

And what, exactly, are you talking about?

I think JH is responding to the transposed numbers (1997) instead of 1979?

Although in 97 the internet was pretty much all dialup.

originally posted by: jedi_hamster

originally posted by: gortex
Considering that in 1997 the microprocessor was a relatively new thing and the first line of publicly available computers like the Commodore PET were astounding Earthlings with their 1 MHz processors and massive 8 KB of memory Voyager 2 was fairly well stacked with its 69.63 kilobytes of memory and digital 8-track tape able to store one jpeg image before sending it back home at 160 bits per second , a slow dial-up connection here on Earth can deliver at least 20,000 bits per second.

what a load of BS.

but as usual, throwing a bunch of technical mumbo-jumbo together leaves ignorant majority salivating, when the fact is, you have no idea what you're talking about.

I entirely agree. The years and technology are way off.

The most common microprocessor at the time of launch, the 6502 family. The 6502 was introduced in 1975.

I would not say that in 1997, microprocessors were relatively new as the commercial technology was over 30 years old.

That is like saying the space shuttle was an advanced technological wonder in the 80s and 90s. Nope, just 60s design and 70s tech. Tech wonder it was but dated by first launch.

The reason the Voyager systems are so rugged is the older technology. Things were built stronger then.

Should they have built all six as originally planned, the farthest one would be less than half the distance out that Voyager 2 is now. The gravity assist slingshot affect has allowed the Voyagers more speed than originally designed for.

Having a still partly working probe that far out is just an unplanned accident caused by budget cuts.

a reply to: ColeYounger

It made made me think of back in the day and going to the computer expo shows. A basic box with the trimmings an a monitor ran you are $2500usd... which is like $4000 equivalence today.

I was hooked on the notion of digitizing the surface of the moon and using VR to be able to transport myself there. Every last penny I made went towards that fantasy goal I had in mind, then I came across a software collaboration called Vista Pro which had the same basic concept except not integrating VR and Mars was instead the target.

a reply to: gortex

The little probe that could...........

a reply to: jedi_hamster

Voyager 2 was launched on August 20 1977.

As there was no reason for 1997 being mentioned, reread the opening post as if it said 1977 where it says 1997.

a reply to: ArMaP

I Never was good with numbers.

Hell I'm all thumbs when it comes to these phones... literally

Cracked screens don't help either lol.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: ArMaP

I Never was good with numbers.