Voyager 1 hears the hush of interstellar plasma

Re:Voyager 1 hears the hush of interstellar plasma by celias on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @01:48AM (#27114647)

The one-way light times are at the bottom of https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov roughly 17.5 hours for Voyager2 and 21 hours for Voyager 1

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Re:Voyager 1 hears the hush of interstellar plasma by holoduke on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @02:55AM (#27115006)

Just About 1200 times longer and it approached the same distance as our nearest star at 4 ly

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Re:Voyager 1 hears the hush of interstellar plasma by wongarsu on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @04:05AM (#27115460)

If we started pursuing nuclear pulse propulsion we could have our first probe arrive in the next star system in a hundred years or so, and eventually get the travel time closer to 40 years.

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Re:Voyager 1 hears the hush of interstellar plasma by techrat on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @04:34AM (#27115670)

If?

Theoretical is still theoretical. We have no functioning propulsion that can exceed what the probes are currently travelling at.

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Re:Voyager 1 hears the hush of interstellar plasma by wongarsu on Tuesday May 11, 2021 @08:41AM (#27117360)

At least for something like Project Orion, all the individual components are either verified in prototypes or proven technology. We have existing stockpiles of nuclear bombs. Propelling a craft by exploding something behind it is demonstrated in smaller prototypes with TNT. We know how to do radiation shielding, we know how to do shock absorbers.

Or course combining technologies in a new way comes with lots of engineering challenges, but it's a smaller leap in technology than e.g. the first moon landing.

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