Voyager 1: A Four-Year Mission That Outlived Its Power
TL;DR Summary
Launched in 1977 for a four‑year mission, Voyager 1 is now the farthest human‑made object, roughly 15 billion miles away; by November 2026 a radio signal will take 24 hours to reach it. With dwindling plutonium power and only two instruments still active, NASA’s JPL team performs a staged ‘triage’—turning off heaters and reviving long‑dead thrusters—to keep the craft alive into the 2030s, relying on a tiny ground crew and a two‑day command loop while the Golden Record sails through interstellar space.
- Voyager 1 launched in 1977 on a four-year mission and is still flying 49 years later, now so far away that in November 2026 a radio signal will take a full 24 hours to reach it — so when engineers say "good morning" on a Monday, the answer won't arrive until 19FortyFive
- It's Official: Voyager 1 Will Break A Cosmic Record, Reaching 1 Light-Day From Earth On November 18, 2026 IFLScience
- A probe is about to enter a realm humanity has only imagined until now Futura, le média qui explore le monde
- NASA’s Voyager 1 probe is about to reach a distance once thought unimaginable in space MSN
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