08-17-2013, 06:03 AM
Paul F. wrote:
[quote=space-time]
I won't believe it until it returns to Earth with concrete evidence.
seriously, I wonder how much longer we will be able to communicate with this craft. Will it run out of energy first, or it will be too far to make communication possible?
Voyager 1's Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator will be generating less than required to keep the spacecraft communicating sometime in 2019 or 2020. Around 2035, it'll "go dark" completely as the power level falls below what the control computer can use.
Oh, come on Paul, call it a RTG. A lot of stuff launched uses RTGs. They just don't tell most of us.