Space Travel News  
SPACE TRAVEL
Aerojet Propulsion Assists Voyager 1 Precision Maneuver At The Edge Of The Solar System

illustration only
by Staff Writers
Sacramento, CA (SPX) Apr 04, 2011
Aerojet says its thrusters on the Voyager 1 spacecraft assisted in several critical repositionings of the spacecraft over 10 billion miles away from the sun, at the edge of the solar system.

On March 8, 2011, the 34-year-old Voyager 1 spacecraft did the deep space equivalent of a gymnastics routine at the Olympics as it rolled 70 degrees counterclockwise from its normal orientation and held the position by spinning gyroscopes for two hours and 33 minutes.

Until a recent preparatory test, the last time either of the two Voyager spacecraft rolled and stopped in a gyro-controlled orientation was on Feb. 14, 1990.

Voyager 2 was launched on Aug. 20, 1977. The launch of Voyager 1 followed on Sept. 5, 1977. Since their launch, both spacecraft have traveled outward from Earth, providing decades of discoveries about our solar system.

This past March 7, Voyager 1 was located about 17 billion kilometers (11 billion miles) away from the sun and Voyager 2 was 14 billion kilometers (nine billion miles) away on a different trajectory.

Each of the spacecraft carries an attitude control system including 16 Aerojet monopropellant thrusters. The thrusters are used in concert with Voyager's gyroscopes to maneuver the spacecraft.

In June 2010, the spacecraft's instruments indicated that the solar wind was slowly dropping to zero. This meant that Voyager was reaching the edge of our solar system. The Voyager science team conducted the precision roll maneuvers to determine the strength and direction of the solar wind at the edge of the solar system, in a continuing effort to understand the shape of our solar system's solar wind "bubble."

This will allow the Voyager science team to estimate how much farther it is to the end of our solar system and when Voyager will become the first spacecraft from Earth to enter interstellar space.

In preparation for the precision roll maneuvers, Voyager engineers performed a series of test maneuvers prior to the main repositioning event, similar to an athlete training for a major competition. On Feb. 2 the Voyager team maneuvered the spacecraft for two hours and 15 minutes.

When the test data from Voyager 1 was received on Earth some 16 hours later, the mission team verified that the test was successful and that the spacecraft had no problem in reorienting itself and locking back onto its guide star, Alpha Centauri.

The instrument science team confirmed that the maneuvers allowed the spacecraft to acquire the kind of information about the solar wind that it needed, and mission planners gave Voyager 1 the go-ahead for more rolls and longer holds.

There were additional maneuvers, with the longest hold lasting three hours and 50 minutes. The Voyager team now plans to execute a series of weekly rolls for this purpose every three months.

"Aerojet is astonished at the longevity of the Voyager spacecraft including our thrusters," said Aerojet Director, Joe "Go2Mars" Cassady.

"The science returned by these spacecraft has transformed humankind's understanding of our solar system. Aerojet is very proud to be a part of the Voyager missions and their latest discoveries at the edge of our solar system and the start of interstellar space."



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Voyager at NASA
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


SPACE TRAVEL
Voyager Seeks The Answer Blowin' In The Wind
Pasadena CA (JPL) Mar 10, 2011
In which direction is the sun's stream of charged particles banking when it nears the edge of the solar system? The answer, scientists know, is blowing in the wind. It's just a matter of getting NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft in the right orientation to detect it. To enable Voyager 1's Low Energy Charged Particle instrument to gather these data, the spacecraft performed a maneuver on March 7 ... read more







SPACE TRAVEL
India's GSAT-8 Delivered To French Guiana

SpaceX unveils heavy launcher

Arianespace Flight VA201: Interruption Of The Countdown

Final Countdown Is Underway For Second Ariane 5 Flight Of 2011

SPACE TRAVEL
Study Of 'Ruiz Garcia' Rock Completed

Next Mars Rover Gets A Test Taste Of Mars Conditions

Alternatives Have Begun In Bid To Hear From Spirit

Opportunity Completes Study Of Ruiz Garcia Rock

SPACE TRAVEL
84 Teams To Compete In NASA Great Moonbuggy Race

A New View Of Moon

Super Full Moon

LRO Delivers Treasure Trove Of Data

SPACE TRAVEL
Later, Uranus: New Horizons Passes Another Planetary Milestone

Can WISE Find The Hypothetical Tyche In Distant Oort Cloud

Theory: Solar system has another planet

Launch Plus Five Years: A Ways Traveled, A Ways To Go

SPACE TRAVEL
White Dwarfs Could Be Fertile Ground For Other Earths

NASA Announces 2011 Carl Sagan Fellows

Report Identifies Priorities For Planetary Science 2013-2022

Planetary Society Statement On Planetary Science Decadal Survey For 2013-2022

SPACE TRAVEL
NASA Test Stand Passes Review For Next-Generation Rocket Engine Testing

TEXUS 49 Lifts Off With Four German Experiments On Board

A Reusable Manned Deep - Space Craft

NASA's Successful 'Can Crush' Will Aid Heavy-Lift Rocket Design

SPACE TRAVEL
What Future for Chang'e-2

China setting up new rocket production base

China's Tiangong-1 To Be Launched By Modified Long March II-F Rocket

China Expects To Launch Fifth Lunar Probe Chang'e-5 In 2017

SPACE TRAVEL
Forensic Sleuthing Ties Ring Ripples To Impacts

Vesta: Asteroid or planet?

When Is An Asteroid Not An Asteroid

Stardust Fires Up Main Engine For Final Burn


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement