Letting go is hard, especially when it concerns an irreplaceable space probe like the two Voyagers. Fortunately JPL engineers have managed to pull off a ‘big bang’ switch on Voyager 2, involving two heaters and another device that was kept on to keep providing sufficient heat to the spacecraft to allow it to keep functioning. After all, while the vacuum of space isn’t cold, out in deep space you’re radiating away all your precious heat.
Unfortunately the official press release is exceedingly limited in details, but The Register was kind enough to nag a NASA spokesperson about it, and gave us some technical details. The short version is that these heaters don’t just keep the electronics within a happy operating range, they also keep the fuel lines warm and capable of providing fuel for attitude adjustments.
With this switch, apparently enough of the rapidly diminishing power from the RTG has been freed up that the Voyager 2 has just gained a whole extra year on its extended mission. The JPL team hopes to perform the same switch on the Voyager 1 spacecraft soon, giving it a similar boost to its expected lifespan, before both of them go quiet in the depths of space.
Thanks to [Mark Stevens] for the tip.
I wonder what would happen if Voyager 2 was fitted with a bog standard 300 kt nuke. Once it’s out of power we could detonate it and listen for RF emissions, maybe even observe it with telescope. Could be fun to reflect electrons off Solar System bow shock.
Remember, the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.
We generally avoid launching nuclear bombs into orbit, and have globally made it illegal to do so, for a few fairly convincing reasons.
Those treaties seem to be rapidly deteriorating, and people are playing around with the idea of using nuclear propulsion again. This is fine with me, but blowing up probes that far out in space is very short sighted. If that were the original goal, ok, but we have golden records on those probes that someone will enjoy finding some day.
A nuke in LEO could be used to destroy ISS so I get that US or Japan might not be happy about it. But even if you made something like a Tsar Bombard and detonated it on the Moon, or even on Pluto it’s going to be like throwing a bag of urine at dead buffalo. No one is going to care.
The danger has nothing to do with military intent, it’s the launch itself. Even with modern rockets you’re looking at a 1 to 5 percent chance of a catastrophic failure, turning a nuke strapped to it into a worldwide dirty bomb.
fortunately nukes do not go boom because they rocket they are on blew up. There have been many accidents with bombs and not one has not gone nuclear. There are many safety mecinisis in then to stop this. Not to methion that material in them is not that dangerous. Pre boom they are only slightly radioactive and odds are a chemical explosion would not even penetrate the bomb casing it self.
fortunately nukes do not go boom because they rocket they are on blew up.
They don’t have to. The rocket itself is enough boom to make it into a shotgun blast of hot plutonium that lands somewhere along the trajectory of the rocket.
that material in them is not that dangerous
The materials are not only dangerous, but lethal if inhaled. You absolutely cannot risk a launch failure aerosolizing the payload into the atmosphere.
If 1 in 5 (non-test) launches was a catastrophic failure, we’d see many more cool explosions.
A quick search gives:
As of July 2026, the Falcon 9 family has a success rate of 99.55% with 670 full mission successes out of 673 launches.
That’s probably a better success rate than many cars…
If 1 in 5 (non-test) launches was a catastrophic failure
Are you under the impression that “1 to 5 percent” is “1 in 5”?
I have a ms in aerospace eng a phd in physics and 21 years as a US Marine. Of all the nukes that have been lost in fires, dropped unarmed or destroyed when the plane crashed not one as ever leaked the fizzle material. They are designed to survive just such worst case failures. While the fizzle material is indeed vary toxic there is just not that much of it. Also the bomb casings are really are designed to sit in a burring pudle of jet fuel that just got slammed in to the runway at extreme g forces for hours. The oh the rocket blew up and spred radioactive meterial every were is bullshit. If you are talking a two stage device there is about a golf ball size lump of meterial in them. If you are talking 3 stage there is an outer u235 jacket but even in the actual nuke detonation only about 20% of it actauly fissioned. U235 is very refractory and it take a shit ton of energy to get to vaporize or really even to melt.
A “phd in physics” calls it “fizzle material”?
That does raise the question of where this “phd” came from.
Congrats, by the name of science, I think that’s one of the most perverted ideas I ever heard.
Besides using pigeons in to navigate air missiles in the world wars etc.
“I think that’s one of the most perverted ideas I ever heard”
I suggest going to a doctor to check your hearing, last time I turned on the TV (sometimes the daily news is just enough) there were plenty of horrific things on show that (if you heard it) would have made think twice before writing that comment.
Thanks, and I don’t live in the US btw. Our TV programme is not like that.
And if I suggest going to a doctor to check my hearing,
then I’d like return the favor and do politely suggest that you
and the other commenter might consider to see psychiatrist or neurologist.
Because, the Voyager probes are symbols of peace and do literally carry the hopes and dreams of humanity (golden record).
They were one of the pinacles in human history, the one thing we humans will leave behind.
The idea alone about blasting them into pieces for a spectacular “boom” is sick, just sick.
It’s as ‘funny’ and pointless as cutting off your little sister’s doll’s head with a pair of scissors.
Seriously, I pitty you guys. I feel deeply sorry for your limited horizon and your meaningless life you seem to live.
There are so many wonders in life you must miss out on with such a sad existance.
IMHO. From a scientific point of view, disabling all the instruments and turning the Voyagers into simple radio beacons would be much more meaningful than just fireworks.
This would still allow measuring the doppler effect and radio propagation.
Their echos would keep wandering through time and space, as a memento of humanity.
Extending Voyager 2’s mission? I’m not crying, it’s probably just dust in here, or all of the onions…
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