Humanity escapes the solar system

[dust1n]

Originally Posted by Quagmire

Wondering if it'll pick up speed once it clear of the suns gravitational pull.

I'm not sure it will pick up speed, but it should stop slowing down at that point, or at least, stop curving (if it was). It might have been at velocities more powerful than any meaningful affect of gravity. Not sure though.

This seems to indicate that it will just stop slowing down as it moves farther away.

Launch and trajectory

The Voyager 1 probe was launched on September 5, 1977, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a Titan IIIE/Centaur launch vehicle. The twin Voyager 2 probe had been launched two weeks earlier, on August 20, 1977. Despite being launched later, Voyager 1 reached both Jupiter and Saturn sooner, following a shorter trajectory.


Voyager 1 lifted off with a Titan IIIE/Centaur


Trajectory of Voyager 1 primary mission.
...

On February 14, 1990, Voyager 1 took the first ever "family portrait" of our Solar System as seen from outside,[14] which includes the famous image known as "Pale Blue Dot". It is estimated that both Voyager craft have sufficient electrical power to operate their radio transmitters until at least 2025, which will be over 48 years after launch.


On November 17, 1998, Voyager 1 overtook Pioneer 10 as the most distant man-made object from Earth, at a distance of 69.419 AU (1.03849×1010 km). It is currently the most distant functioning space probe to receive commands and transmit information to Earth. The spacecraft's mission now is its eternal mission, to study and wander the interstellar medium. At 17.26 km/s (10.72 mi/s)[15] it has the fastest heliocentric recession speed of any man-made satellite.[16]


Provided Voyager 1 does not collide with any stellar objects, the New Horizons space probe will never pass it, despite being launched from Earth at a faster speed than either Voyager spacecraft. New Horizons is traveling at about 15 km/s, 2 km/s slower than Voyager 1, and is still slowing down. When New Horizons reaches the same distance from the Sun as Voyager 1 is now, its speed will be about 13 km/s (8 mi/s).[17] The close flyby of Saturn and Titan gave Voyager 1 a massive advantage with its extra gravity assist.


Voyager 1 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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[Nowhere Man]

I think Sagan is dead on regarding the pale blue dot photograph.

[Willamena]

Originally Posted by Nowhere Man

I think Sagan is dead on regarding the pale blue dot photograph.

Well, you're half right...



(Sorry, bad joke.)

[Penumbra]

I wish the level of interest in space exploration had not decreased from the peak that it had been at. Who knows what could have been done in the last 30 years.

The voyager craft have golden disks on board for any aliens that find them. Neat stuff.

[dust1n]

Check it out, we found golden disks!


Hypothetical alien reaction to Voyager I.