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Voyager: The Story of a Space Mission
A behind-the-scenes look at the Voyager missions provides insight into the intricate planning, complex technology, and many people whose work culminated in Voyager's superb photographs of the planet Jupiter
152 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 2, 2017
A good introduction of the twin space probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, that thrilled our imaginations in the 1980's...once the images and other information started pouring in....it took a few years to get to Jupiter and Saturn! This book provides the background aoub what inspires Jack Cheng's Alex Petrosky in See You in the Cosmos. So much has happened in space since the Voyagers, you might get the "space bug."
August 5, 2024
🪐 4.0
One day, somewhere in the part of the library that seldom saw people, I took comfort in the Astrophysics section. It was the last section of reading hall 2, it smelled of paper, mildew and mothballs. I cried that day, because I felt so out of place, exhausted, meaningless and lonely, but also because I could cry here without having to worry about anyone finding out. The books are great listeners, even better secret keepers. When I could finally gather myself up, I looked through the books in awe. And that's where I found you, blue leather bound with silver lettering - Voyager. How could something so simple pull you in so much?... But you did.
I sat down under the 16th fan and read for hours. And then you went on to become the first book I ever borrowed from a library.
I never realized I could be so consumed and excited about a non fiction book.
Voyager was everything. It's story was so well written, like, would you believe me if I say I laughed and cried over this book? There was humour, there was emotion. And there was SO MUCH to learn! And it was all put down so well and so easy to understand. When I finally got to see the pictures, I was smiling like a proud idiot. Like I was a part of the Jupiter - Saturn mission, like I was sitting there watching the Voyager be made. And for most of it, all I could think about page after page was - how on earth is the human brain capable of doing all this? These preparations, towards the freaking unknown? To be able to sit down and decide what needs to be done, to come up with ideas, picture their probabilities and come up with better ideas. To actually build these ideas into real working things. Unreal.
And once the spacecraft is actually sent to space it only gets more unreal. I loved the book more after this point, where the Voyager, seemed to have become it's own person. IT WAS THE CUTEST THING EVER. How it sometimes didn't get the right signal and went sent a message 'death'... How dramatic? And how it waits for every single instruction - waiting for a specific sound that it recognises to be from home over the billion other static radio noises. And how it almost gave the scientists a heart attack on more than one occasions. Voyager was it's own person. Atleast to me. And I felt like a proud mama when it sent back those pictures. And cried like a baby when both the Voyager 1 & 2 floated into space forever.
The ending gave me chills. How life on earth was recorded and sent, whale sounds, bird songs, the president's message, popular hits - and how crazy to think someone out in the far universe could be listening to all this right now. How will the reach us? What makes it true that they have the same tech as us, they could be million times more advanced and we could get back a message any day now. Who knows.
What's that quote that goes something like - we're either all alone in space, or we're not. And both, are equally terrifying.
This book felt close to my heart for whatever reason and everytime I feel bad, I go back to the Astrophysics section and caress Voyager's spine, I keep telling it 'don't ever forget me' and go back to remind that I don't forget either I'm not sure why, but it keeps me comforted.
I was so surprised to see this amazing book had no reviews and barely any ratings. This is a must read for Astrophysics lovers! And not just because I was deeply connected to it for some reason but because it really is such a well written book.
One day, somewhere in the part of the library that seldom saw people, I took comfort in the Astrophysics section. It was the last section of reading hall 2, it smelled of paper, mildew and mothballs. I cried that day, because I felt so out of place, exhausted, meaningless and lonely, but also because I could cry here without having to worry about anyone finding out. The books are great listeners, even better secret keepers. When I could finally gather myself up, I looked through the books in awe. And that's where I found you, blue leather bound with silver lettering - Voyager. How could something so simple pull you in so much?... But you did.
I sat down under the 16th fan and read for hours. And then you went on to become the first book I ever borrowed from a library.
I never realized I could be so consumed and excited about a non fiction book.
Voyager was everything. It's story was so well written, like, would you believe me if I say I laughed and cried over this book? There was humour, there was emotion. And there was SO MUCH to learn! And it was all put down so well and so easy to understand. When I finally got to see the pictures, I was smiling like a proud idiot. Like I was a part of the Jupiter - Saturn mission, like I was sitting there watching the Voyager be made. And for most of it, all I could think about page after page was - how on earth is the human brain capable of doing all this? These preparations, towards the freaking unknown? To be able to sit down and decide what needs to be done, to come up with ideas, picture their probabilities and come up with better ideas. To actually build these ideas into real working things. Unreal.
And once the spacecraft is actually sent to space it only gets more unreal. I loved the book more after this point, where the Voyager, seemed to have become it's own person. IT WAS THE CUTEST THING EVER. How it sometimes didn't get the right signal and went sent a message 'death'... How dramatic? And how it waits for every single instruction - waiting for a specific sound that it recognises to be from home over the billion other static radio noises. And how it almost gave the scientists a heart attack on more than one occasions. Voyager was it's own person. Atleast to me. And I felt like a proud mama when it sent back those pictures. And cried like a baby when both the Voyager 1 & 2 floated into space forever.
The ending gave me chills. How life on earth was recorded and sent, whale sounds, bird songs, the president's message, popular hits - and how crazy to think someone out in the far universe could be listening to all this right now. How will the reach us? What makes it true that they have the same tech as us, they could be million times more advanced and we could get back a message any day now. Who knows.
What's that quote that goes something like - we're either all alone in space, or we're not. And both, are equally terrifying.
This book felt close to my heart for whatever reason and everytime I feel bad, I go back to the Astrophysics section and caress Voyager's spine, I keep telling it 'don't ever forget me' and go back to remind that I don't forget either I'm not sure why, but it keeps me comforted.
I was so surprised to see this amazing book had no reviews and barely any ratings. This is a must read for Astrophysics lovers! And not just because I was deeply connected to it for some reason but because it really is such a well written book.
June 19, 2025
3.5 - a nice look into the past.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews