Voyager 2 overview

The Voyager 2 spacecraft was an interplanetary unmanned spacecraft launched on August 20, 1977. Both the Voyager 2 and Voyager 1 spacecraft were designed, developed, and built at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. near Pasadena, California.

Similar to the form and equipment with her sister ship in her Voyager Program, Voyager 1, Voyager 2 is launched with a lower and more curved trajectory, allowing it to be held in the Zodiac plane (plane of Solar system) so that it can reach Uranus and Neptune using attractive support when it flies through 1981 Saturn and Uranus in 1986.

Voyager 2 ship.

Because of this selected trajectory, Voyager 2 cannot approach Saturn's massive Moon as Titan as its sister ship. However, Voyager 2 actually became the first and only spacecraft to fly through Uranus and Neptune, and thus completed the Great Interplanetary Journey. This is an event by a rare alignment of exoplanets (176 years only once).

The Voyager 2 spacecraft made the most effective unmanned flight, visited all four outer planets and the Lunar systems and their perimeter, including the first two visits to Uranus and Sao Hai Vuong has never been discovered. Voyager 2 has two vidicon touch cameras and another set of scientific instruments to measure UV, infrared, and radio wave lengths, as well as to measure subatomic elements in outer space. , including cosmic rays.

Voyager 2 ship case file

Voyager 2 was originally planned to become Mariner 12, an expansion of the Mariner program spacecraft.

The Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched on August 20, 1977, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States on a Titan IIIE / Centaur launch missile, in a flawless mission without any obstacle to orbit. . Some weeks later, Voyager ground controllers encountered a problem after the first launch with Voyager 1, and they forgot to send an important upgrade source code to Voyager 2. (These spacecraft were programmed to wait for a radio message to follow some form from the Deep Space Network at least once a week to check if their radio systems are still active.

This mistake in receiving radio signals made Voyager 2 turn off its main radio receiver and switch to using the same backup receiver, with a slight damage. During switching on and off between two receivers in several times, a fuse in the DC power supply of the main receiver explodes, causing it to stop working permanently. So from that point onwards the entire mission must rely on backup receivers.

Voyager 2 was launched on August 20, 1977 with a Titan IIIE / Centaur missile.

Difficulties when launching Voyager 2

Voyager 2 gyroscopes and computers were active during the Titan / Centaur launch phase, monitoring the chain of events, so that these systems took on the control of posture and other functions of spacecraft right after being separated from the last floor of the Centaur rocket. But at the time, something unexpected happened: the Voyager 2 computer had a robot "unbalance". In a state of confusion, it turned on the redundant sensors unnecessarily, causing its "sensors" to stop working.

Voyager 2's disoriented flight control computer continued to be cut off from Voyager's powerful tuning missiles at the time, so it did not cause damage to the launch during launch. Centaur's posture control system continued to be responsible, without the "loss of balance" phenomenon and, as planned, corrected this imbalance of Voyager's computer just before separation.

From the center of the spacecraft, engineers and technicians helplessly observed the antics of Voyager's disoriented computer. An hour 11 minutes after the launch, the solid fuel rocket. Voyager 2's own works for 45 seconds, to increase its final momentum to enough power to Jupiter.

One and a half minutes after Voyager 2's main missile stopped working, the three-meter-long joint arm held the camera and other remote sensing devices open and operating as planned. Later, Voyager 2's computer once again felt an emergency situation for a number of reasons. This time it switched to another controller and activated the valves to control the small jet of air to stabilize its posture in the universe. Voyager 2's "buddy" robot (its control program) then suspects some parts of the computer in a crazy attempt to correct the wrong direction it finds.

At this point, Voyager 2 follows the usual procedures that the Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers have installed on the computer to solve the emergency situations for robot spacecraft in distant space - disorienting control. posture. The Voyager 2 turns off most of the communication with the Earth to begin correcting the direction.

Seventy minutes passed while Voyager 2 searched the Sun on its own with a sensor to set a direction point. Voyager 2 finally broadcasted the radio to the Earth announcing that it was working normally. At this point we still do not know if the dense sensors on it work incorrectly, or the digital computers on the ship have been damaged.

Voyager 2's search for a computer error was then done on the heartbreaking assumption that it would only be caused by a hardware failure hundreds of millions of miles away from Earth. In that event, Voyager 2 will not even be able to establish emergency contacts with flight controllers, they cannot help it at that distance, in any case.

Voyager 2 has been programmed to virtually turn off all communications with the Earth in such emergency situations deep in the universe and to repair itself. However, those processes were started immediately after launch, when they should not have happened. There are no hardware errors in the computer — just a small but serious installation of posture measurements in the onboard computer.

Meet Jupiter

The nearest visit to Jupiter took place on July 9, 1979. It flew within 570,000 km (350,000 miles) from the highest clouds on the planet. It has discovered several rings around Jupiter, as well as the active volcanic activity above Io Moon.

The Great Red Spot was discovered to be a complicated storm moving in an anti-clockwise direction. A smaller network of storms and cyclones has been found throughout the cloud.

The discovery of volcanic activity on Moon Io is the most undesirable discovery in Jupiter. This is the first time volcanic activities are observed on another object in the Solar System. Together, the Voyager ships observed the eruptions of nine volcanoes on Io, and there is evidence that other eruptions also occurred between the Voyager cruises.

Europa Moon exhibits features that consist of many intersecting lines in low-resolution images from Voyager 1. Initially, scientists believed that these characteristics could be deep cracks, caused by the drift of clothing or tectonic processes. However, Voyager 2's high-resolution close-ups, confusing the scientists: The lack of terrain features make a scientist describe them, "they may have been paint with a felt pen. " Europa has inner activity because of the tidal heat of about one tenth of Io. Europa is thought to have a thin crust (less than 30 kilometers or 18 miles), including water ice, which can float on an ocean 50 kilometers (30 miles) deep.

Two new, small satellites, Adrastea and Metis, were found with orbits just outside the perimeter. A third new satellite, Thebe, was discovered among the trajectories of Amalthea and Io.

Meet Saturn

Saturn was taken by Voyager 2.

The closest approach to Saturn took place on August 26, 1981.

While cruising behind Saturn (when viewed from Earth), Voyager 2 explored Saturn's elevated atmosphere with its radio link to gather information about temperature and atmospheric density. Voyager 2 found that the highest pressure levels (seven kilopascals of pressure), the temperature of Saturn was about 70 kelvin (−203 ° C), while the lowest levels were measured (120 kilopascals) of heat. increase to 143 K (30130 ° C). The north pole is found to be cooler than 10 kelvin, although this may be seasonal (see also Opposite Saturn).

After flying over Saturn, Voyager 2's camera system was up for a short time, putting the risk of extending the mission to Uranus and Sao Hai Vuong in danger, the engineers of the mission solved it. this problem (caused by the excessive use of its lubricant was temporarily lost), and the Voyager 2 spacecraft continued to fly to explore the Uranus system.

Meet Uranus

Uranus observes from a distance of 18 million km.

The closest approach Uranus took place on January 24, 1986, when Voyager 2 flew in 81,500 kilometers (50,600 miles) from the clouds on the planet's top. Voyager 2 also discovered 10 previously unknown stars of Uranus; studying the planet's most unique atmosphere, caused by its 97.8 ° axial tilt; and considering the belt system of Uranus.

Uranus is clearly the third largest planet (Neptune has a larger mass, but smaller volume) in the Solar System. It orbits the Sun at about 2.8 billion kilometers (1.7 billion miles), and completes one round after 84 years. Voyager 2, the length of one day on Uranus, is 17 hours, 14 minutes. Uranus is unique among planets with an axis of about 90 °, meaning its axis is almost parallel, not perpendicular to the ecliptic plane. This too large shaft tilt is thought to be the result of a collision between the planet Uranus forming with another planet-sized object in the history of the Solar System. With its unusual axial tilt, with the polar regions of Uranus constantly receiving sunshine or being obscured for many years, planetary scientists are not sure what will happen when observed. or measuring Uranus.

Voyager 2 found that one of the most surprising effects of Uranus's side turning was the effect on the tail of the planet's magnetic field. It is also tilted about 60 degrees above the rotation of Uranus. The planet's magnetic tail is shown to be twisted by Uranus into a cork pattern that follows the planet. The presence of Uranus's strong magnetic field has never been known until Voyager 2 arrived.

Uranian radiation belts are found to be as dense as Saturn's rings. Emission density inside the Uranian rings causes radiation to "quickly" darken - within 100,000 years - any methane trapped in the ice surfaces of inner pythons and rim elements band. This dark type may have contributed to the dark surfaces of the Moon and the belt elements, almost all dark gray.

An overhead haze was discovered around the sun's extreme sunshine. The area was also discovered to emit a large amount of ultraviolet light, a phenomenon called "dayglow." The average atmospheric temperature is about 60 K (negative 350 degrees Fahrenheit / minus 213 degrees Celsius). Surprisingly, extremely dark and extremely illuminated, and most planets have nearly the same temperature in the clouds on top.

Meet Neptune

Voyager 2 photo captures Neptune.

Voyager 2's closest approach to Neptune took place on August 25, 1989. [6] [7] Because this is the last planet in our Solar System that Voyager 2 can visit, the Project Leadership Scientist, team members, and flight controllers decide to also perform a horizontal flight. The only large satellite of Neptune, Triton, to gather as much information as possible about Neptune and Triton, no matter what corner Voyager 2 will fly from Neptune. This is the same as Voyager 1 meeting Saturn and its large satellite Titan.

Through flight trajectory tests that were conducted many times through the Neptune system before, flight controllers found the best way for Voyager 2bay to cross the Neptune-Triton system. By the plane of the tilted Triton trajectory is quite large compared to the Ecliptic plane, through mid-way adjustments, Voyager 2 is directed to a flight way north of Neptune many thousands of miles. At that point, Triton is in the back and bottom (south of) Neptune (at about 25 degrees below the Ecliptic plane), close to its elliptical orbit apoapsis. Neptune's gravitational traction bends Voyager 2's trajectory down towards Triton. In less than 24 hours, Voyager 2 crossed the distance between Neptune and Triton, and then observed Triton's northern hemisphere when Voyager 2 crossed Triton's north pole.

The real and final effect on Voyager 2's trajectory is to curl its flight path south to the Ecliptic plane by about 30 degrees. Voyager 2 is always on this route, and thus, it explores the Ecliptic south south space, measuring magnetic fields, bearing elements, etc., there, and sending measurements to Earth through telemetry.

While in the vicinity of Neptune, Voyager 2 discovered "Big Black Spots", and since then this spot has disappeared, according to observations by the Hubble Space Telescope. Originally thought to be a large cloud, "Big Black Spots" was later assumed to be a pit under the visible cloud of Neptune.

Neptune's atmosphere consists of hydrogen, helium, and methane. Methane in the Neptune atmosphere absorbs red light from the Sun, but it reflects blue light from the Sun into space. This explains why Neptune is blue.

Escape the Solar System

Because its planetary mission has ended, Voyager 2 is currently considered to be performing an interstellar mission, which NASA is currently conducting to explore the Solar System outside the heliosphere. On August 30, 2007, Voyager 2 surpassed the ending shock in the bag, approximately 1 billion miles (1.6 billion km) near Voyager 1 Sun. This was due to the cosmic interstellar field of the universe. The southern hemisphere of the solar system's diary is being pushed into.

As of April 13, 2010, Voyager 2 was at a distance of 91.898 AU (13.747 billion km, 8.542 billion miles, or 0.001443 light years) from the Sun, deep in the scattered disk, and flying out in addition to the speed of about 3,264 AU per year. It is twice as far away from the Sun as Pluto, and far beyond 90377 Sedna's near-point, but is still not outside the limits of the trajectory of the dwarf planet Eris.

Voyager 2 is not directed to any particular star. If so, it would fly over Sirius, currently 2.6 parsec away from the Sun and moving diagonally from the Sun, at a distance of 1.32 parsec (4.3 light years, 25 trillion miles). in about 296,000 years.

Voyager 2 is expected to continue to transmit weak radio messages at least until 2025, more than 48 years after it was launched.

Voyager Gold Disk.

Inside the spacecraft there is one of the Voyager Golden Disk. It was intended to send to any form of intelligent life outside of Earth that could find it. The disc contains pictures of Earth and life forms on Earth, some scientific information, greetings from everyone (eg, United Nations Secretary-General and President of the United States, and young people). Earth's sister and a blend, "The Sounds of the Earth" , include the whale's sounds, the sound of children crying, waves crashing, and many types of music.

The current status of Voyager 2

On November 30, 2006, a command for Voyager 2 was deciphered by the onboard computer - in a random error - an order to turn on the ship's electric heaters and magnetometers. These electric heaters were still switched on until December 4, 2006, and during that time resulted in a temperature of over 130 ° C (266 ° F), much higher than the temperature for words The design is tolerable, and a sensor has turned away from its standard direction. The damage caused by Voyager 2's magnetometer cannot be completely analyzed and corrected completely, although efforts to do so are still underway.

Voyager 2 is located at 92 AU from the sun in March 2010. On November 1, 2009, it is tilted -54.59 ° and Right Ascension 19,733 h, making it in the constellation Telescopium when viewed from Earth.