The Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched in 1977 to explore the solar system and beyond. In 2008, it was entering the region between our solar system and interstellar space known as the heliosheath. It is the furthest man-made object from the Earth and is continuing on its journey into the unknown. Based on what you have learned about orbital elements, the eccentricity of Voyager 1 is greater than 1. True or false?

Question

Engineering

Kadence Horne

21 May, 14:18

The Voyager 1 spacecraft was launched in 1977 to explore the solar system and beyond. In 2008, it was entering the region between our solar system and interstellar space known as the heliosheath. It is the furthest man-made object from the Earth and is continuing on its journey into the unknown. Based on what you have learned about orbital elements, the eccentricity of Voyager 1 is greater than 1. True or false?

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Answers (1)

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Pierce Stokes · Answer 1

True

Explanation:

The hyperbolic elements for the spacecraft Voyager 1 launched by NASA in 1977 flew by Jupiter and Saturn and continued to explore beyond the solar system into the interstellar space. Trajectory engineers produced data on this journey that indicated a value of eccentricity less than 1 from Earth reaching Jupiter and an eccentricity value greater than 1 for the journey past Jupiter that increases positively as the spacecraft advances to reach Saturn and beyond.