Voyager 1, 10 Bln Miles Away, to Leave Solar System, BBC Says
Voyager 1, the unmanned space craft launched by the U.S. National Space and Aeronautics Administration when Jimmy Carter was president, is on the verge of leaving the solar system, over 10 billion miles from earth, the British Broadcasting Corp. said, citing mission officials.
Voyager, launched in September 1977, is signalling through its radioactive power pack that there is a distinct change in the direction of the flow of particles from the sun, which are no longer traveling outwards but sideways, the broadcaster said.
This means Voyager is on the verge of making the jump into interstellar space, probably within the next five years, the BBC said.
Radio signals from Voyager are now taking 16 hours to arrive on earth, the BBC reported.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Peterson at cpeterson@bloomberg.net
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