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Voyager 1
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Voyager 1 became the most remote human-made object when, in mid-1998, it surpassed the heliocentric distance of Pioneer 10. On Aug. 15, 2006, Voyager 1 passed another milestone when it reached 100 astronomical units (15 billion km, 9.3 billion miles) from the Sun, equivalent to a round-trip light-travel time of 27 hr 52 min. It is traveling at a velocity of 17.23 km/s (38,551 mph) away from the Sun – the fastest of the interstellar spacecraft – in the general direction of the solar apex (the direction of the Sun's motion relative to nearby stars), so that it will probably be the first of the four present star-bound craft to reach the termination shock and cross the heliopause into true interstellar space. Thereafter, it will have a journey lasting almost 40,000 years before it passes the M4 red dwarf AC +79° 3888 at the remote distance of 1.64 light-years (0.50 parsec).
Together with its sister craft, Voyager 1 is currently engaged on the Voyager Interstellar Mission.
Related entries
• Voyager interstellar record
• interstellar probes
Related category
• SATELLITES AND SPACE PROBES
Archived news
Voyager 1 pushes for deep space (May 25, 2005)
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