Voyager mission

[Curiousabout]

Does anyone think it would be timely or worth sending up another vehicle, launched on an interception trajectory of the current voyager craft, to relay between the craft and NASA? The mission is set to end between 2020 and 2025. Sending up another craft outfitted with equipment to relay would allow the vehicle to continue sending back useful information about interstellar space. Shutting down systems could conserve power on the craft. Extending the range would allow us to communicate with Voyager longer than anticipated. Building and waiting 30 years or so to get another craft that far would be Cost prohibitive and delay our continued research in space. Thoughts.

[CaptainPanic]

It's an interesting thought. I'd be curious to know how large such a relay vehicle would be for it to even pick up a signal. Its technology would be relatively simple, I'd like to imagine... but the signal is so faint. The major problem will be the receiver. The space communications complexes used here on earth use massive antennaes to send and receive any signal.

 

(source)

 

Here on earth, there is a lot of noise, so these stations are placed in locations with minimal interference. Maybe a space-based station could be smaller still. But look at the size of these things... even a small communications platform would be massive. The costs of launching one would be huge. And if you launch a smaller station, you still need to travel a LONG way with your space relay before the shorter distance is compensating the much smaller receiver than the stationary ones here on earth.

 

Obviously, another pratical problem is that for the first couple of years, your relay wouldn't necessarily be closer to the Voyager craft, since trajectories are somewhat circular around the sun, and slingshots around planets must be used to get going. You might actually travel "the wrong way" for the initial years.

[Nicholas Kang]

No, you must understand the history of Voyager mission. Now, I would like to share some.

 

In the 1970s, an astronomical phenomena every 100 years approximately take place in our solar system- the planets allignment. All planets allign together, from inner rocky planets to outer gas and ice giants. NASA proposed a mission to take advantage of gravity assist of planets to explore the outer planets by sending 4 probes to discover each of the giants-Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune(excluding Pluto). However, due to financial crisis, finally 2 probes are sent, that gave birth to the Ultimate Voyager mission. So, less fuel is needed to propel to craft. Voyager 2 will follow a special trajectory to explore Uranus and Neptune, because actually not all planets are alligned exactly at that moment. So, it will follow a longer path to keep it align/parallel with the Ecliptic orbit. Voyager 2 was launched first. Then its twin Voyager 1 was launched later. Actually, Voyager 1 only tavels to orbit somewhere near Jupiter or Saturn(I couldn`t remember) then it flies off heading to interstellar space. Voyager 2 continues its mission exploring Uranus and Neptune-which remains the only craft that have visited both planets, at least before New Horizons reach Pluto before 2015. In the year 2004, Voyager 1 passes trough the Termination Shock. Even until today, both space probes continue to provide us with precious information.

 

Now, to launch space probes again to conquer interstellar space is amost impossible. You can do gravity assists but not enough for you to leave the solar system, at least without stronger propulsion source.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Nicholas Kang

[Spyman]

Shutting down systems could conserve power on the craft.

The Voyager spacecrafts have nuclear generators that convert heat from decaying plutonium to electric power. Shutting down instruments or equipment will not stop the plutonium from decaying. The RTGs are not expected to be able to supply enough power to operate any of its single instruments any further than to 2025. Current Deep Space Network will likely be able to pick up the weak signals until this happens.

[Enthalpy]

A data relay would need a huge receiveing antenna. Imagine it half-way to Voyager: it would need half the diameter of the antennas we use on Earth. This diameter is usually not done on space probes, and anyway, building bigger antennas on Earth would do the job for cheaper and would serve more purposes.

 

The Square Kilometer Array currently built for radioastronomy woud be fantastic for space probes as well. I can't tell whether both uses (if possible at the same time) are technically compatible, nor under what conditions (improved capabilities?) radioastronomers would be tempted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_Kilometre_Array

 

One may also ask what Voyager can bring to us, and how expensive a relay would be. At the cost of sending a probe, I'd prefer a new one orbiting Uranus or Europa instead of a relay for Voyager.

 

Now, to launch space probes again to conquer interstellar space is amost impossible. You can do gravity assists but not enough for you to leave the solar system, at least without stronger propulsion source.

 

Leaving the Solar system presently is possible and is done. For instance New Horizons does it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons

The launcher put it directly on a Sun escape trajectory, but Jupiter was used to gain speed.

Edited August 15, 2014 by Enthalpy

[Nicholas Kang]

Leaving the Solar system presently is possible and is done. For instance New Horizons does it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Horizons

The launcher put it directly on a Sun escape trajectory, but Jupiter was used to gain speed.

 

Yes, it is done, but only at a considerable cost. The last section in the link above has shown that NH is expected to complete its mission by 2026 but then it will only encounter heliopause by 2047 and the phrase "Provided it survives that far out" indicates the RTGs might have run out of fuel by that time, maybe it will still travel towards the constellation Sagittarius, but like Voyager, no data will be sent back once the power supply has run out of fuel supply. I mean RTGs aren`t as effective as using lots of gravity assists like Voyager during the planets alignment. We just have to keep our finger cross and hope to see new propulsion technologies emerge before the 100-year planets alignment occur again, should we?