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Have we been able to launch faster spacecraft since? I'm thinking whether there could potentially be a newer interstellar probe that could overtake the Voyagers

by listic 8y ago

Have we been able to launch faster spacecraft since? I'm thinking whether there could potentially be a newer interstellar probe that could overtake the Voyagers 1 and 2 on the way out of the Solar system.

hobbes78 8y ago
Only five probes were launched with the ability to leave de Solar System, but the Voyagers are still the fastest ones... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artificial_objects_leaving_the_Solar_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artificial_objects_lea...
lodi 8y ago
Not really, no. These probes don't really accelerate by burning fuel; instead they pick up velocity by doing a bunch of gravity assists. The more of these you do, the faster you go, but sometimes you have to coast around the sun for years to align yourself with the next gravity assist, and this gets worse and worse until you hit solar escape velocity. Using this method, your final interstellar velocity will just depend on how many objects you can slingshot around on your final 'kick' out of the solar system. (So, in other words, you can get in the same ballpark as Voyager, but not orders of magnitude faster.) Here's a video of what it takes "simply" to get out near Jupiter, nevermind out of the solar system. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktrtvCvZb28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktrtvCvZb28 The Voyager spacecraft took advantage of a special planetary alignment that won't happen again for over a hundred years. --- Having said that, if by 'spacecraft' you mean something weighing a few grams, the Starshot program might be able to obliterate the Voyager records. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot
- koheripbal 8y ago
  > a laser with a gigawatt of power (approximately the output of a large nuclear plant) would provide only a few newtons of thrust. wow... that's not very efficient...
- kartickv 8y ago
  What if you use an ion drive or other propulsion that uses less fuel, and run it for years or decades? Yes, it generates little thrust, but won't it add up over long timescales?
  - lodi 8y ago
    That'll certainly help a bit--you'll pick up several km/s of delta-v--but even this will still be pretty irrelevant in terms of interstellar distances.
- mnw21cam 8y ago
  For anyone who wants to play with doing slingshots around the solar system, there's always Kerbal. Or alternatively there's Spaceflight Simulator https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.StefMorojna.SpaceflightSimulator&hl=en_GB https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.StefMorojn... for which https://xkcd.com/1356/ https://xkcd.com/1356/ is true for me.
Merad 8y ago
Depends on what you mean. There have been recent craft (New Horizons and the Parker Solar Probe) that were launched to a higher velocity than they Voyagers. However, the Voyagers used gravity assists from the gas giants to achieve a high final velocity. It seems unlikely that we'll be able to overtake them unless/until we step up to a more powerful form of spacecraft propulsion.

by listic 8y ago

hobbes78 8y ago

Only five probes were launched with the ability to leave de Solar System, but the Voyagers are still the fastest ones... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artificial_objects_leaving_the_Solar_System https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_artificial_objects_lea...

lodi 8y ago

Not really, no. These probes don't really accelerate by burning fuel; instead they pick up velocity by doing a bunch of gravity assists. The more of these you do, the faster you go, but sometimes you have to coast around the sun for years to align yourself with the next gravity assist, and this gets worse and worse until you hit solar escape velocity. Using this method, your final interstellar velocity will just depend on how many objects you can slingshot around on your final 'kick' out of the solar system. (So, in other words, you can get in the same ballpark as Voyager, but not orders of magnitude faster.) Here's a video of what it takes "simply" to get out near Jupiter, nevermind out of the solar system. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktrtvCvZb28 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktrtvCvZb28 The Voyager spacecraft took advantage of a special planetary alignment that won't happen again for over a hundred years. --- Having said that, if by 'spacecraft' you mean something weighing a few grams, the Starshot program might be able to obliterate the Voyager records. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakthrough_Starshot

koheripbal 8y ago
> a laser with a gigawatt of power (approximately the output of a large nuclear plant) would provide only a few newtons of thrust. wow... that's not very efficient...
kartickv 8y ago
What if you use an ion drive or other propulsion that uses less fuel, and run it for years or decades? Yes, it generates little thrust, but won't it add up over long timescales?
- lodi 8y ago
  That'll certainly help a bit--you'll pick up several km/s of delta-v--but even this will still be pretty irrelevant in terms of interstellar distances.
mnw21cam 8y ago
For anyone who wants to play with doing slingshots around the solar system, there's always Kerbal. Or alternatively there's Spaceflight Simulator https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.StefMorojna.SpaceflightSimulator&hl=en_GB https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.StefMorojn... for which https://xkcd.com/1356/ https://xkcd.com/1356/ is true for me.

Merad 8y ago

Depends on what you mean. There have been recent craft (New Horizons and the Parker Solar Probe) that were launched to a higher velocity than they Voyagers. However, the Voyagers used gravity assists from the gas giants to achieve a high final velocity. It seems unlikely that we'll be able to overtake them unless/until we step up to a more powerful form of spacecraft propulsion.