Voyager // Earth Artifact

The identical Voyager spacecraft are three-axis stabilized systems that use celestial or gyro referenced attitude control to maintain pointing of the high-gain antennas toward Earth. The prime mission science payload consisted of 10 instruments (11 investigations including radio science). Only five investigator teams are still supported, though data are collected for two additional instruments. With the exception of the Voyager 1 PLS instrument, all of the above are working well and are capable of continuing operations in the expected environment. In addition, data are collected from the Planetary Radio Astronomy (PRA) instrument and Voyager 1's Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS). The Flight Data Subsystem (FDS) and a single 8-track digital tape recorder (DTR) provide the data handling functions. The FDS configures each instrument and controls instrument operations. It also collects engineering and science data and formats the data for transmission. The DTR is used to record high-rate PWS data. Data are played back every six months.

// taken from NASA

 

// SPACECRAFT LIFE TIME

The Voyager spacecraft launched in August and September 1977, and this has spent more than 11 years exploring the likes of Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune before heading off into the depths of interstellar space in 1989.