JPL and the Space Age: The Footsteps of Voyager

While the legendary Voyager 2 was in the midst of its triumphant Grand Tour through the outer planets, the space shuttle era was underway on Earth. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory would be among the first to demonstrate how NASA’s new shuttle could be used to conduct science experiments about our own planet from the vantage of space. But for launching missions to targets beyond Earth orbit, the shuttle posed engineering challenges. One mission that launched from the shuttle was Galileo, JPL’s flagship mission to Jupiter, and its route to the launch pad would be full of unexpected twists and turns.

Drawing on rare film footage as well as the memories of the engineers and scientists who were there, “The Footsteps of Voyager” recounts the dramatic experiences of these first-ever encounters at Uranus and Neptune and the efforts to deploy Galileo, a mission that would become the first to orbit an outer planet.

Documentary length: 56 minutes

[monsterlair]

With how moved i am by this JPL series, i can't begin to imagine how watching this must feel for those who were actually involved or associated with the events.

And Carl Sagan, man. One of a kind.

[debbiestocks]

So proud of my dad, H Richard Malm and the other engineers who pioneered the space age.
Growing up with my dad bringing home photos and data was so exciting. I remember taking a photo of Jupiter’s ring to school. I had the opportunity to teach the teacher about the new discovery!
I love following the Voyagers adventures.
Thanks dad.

[Space-Audio]

The Voyagers
Escaping the solar system
Fleeing the realm of man
Leaving behind the turmoil
The strife and pettiness
The fear and superstition
Seeking knowledge
Answers
Wisdom
Peace

But no
Not fleeing
Not escaping
But leading
Learning
Beckoning
Please follow

[BoomedYetLush]

My mentor Dr. Peter (K. B.) Fenton held Dr. Ed Stone in the highest regard. The success of the Voyager missions is a great testimony to the spectacular service of Dr. Stone in expanding our collective curiosity and helping us understand our place in the universe.

[jeffdavis]

*Thanks so very much **#NASA** and **#JPL** for this wonderful video.* 👍🏼

[Smallathe]

An amazing craft that still flies away from earth out in interstellar space...that is one amazing piece of science and engineering!

[Gdcat]

I loved the voyagers since i was only 4 and i would say they are one of the best machines ive ever been a fan of
I even made my own poster in my room about the spacecrafts

[ThysRoes]

Thanks so much for this! I have Voyager tattooed on my arm. Voyager 1 or 2 - I haven't decided. Have spoken to Ed Stone once, was great. Thank you JPL for making this.

[paulneale]

I get so riveted by these shows. Because I can watch them all from the comfort of my home, I feel personally connected and proud of all of the JPL folks and what they've accomplished over the many many years.

[KoolBellAU]

It was the Voyager missions that led me to want to become an Astronaut. Sadly I lacked the physical ability, but the dream is still there, even at 64 years of age.

[robinhannon]

Thank you Carl.
And if course all at JPL at the time and those at JPL nowadays that keep the Voyagers going.

[alexandralayneur]

(29:15) I understood right away what they were about to say, when I saw a shuttle and remembered this was in 1986. I know that the first one was in 1986 (a really bad year, there's Chernobyl disaster too...) and the second in 2003, and I known since then what was about to be said. I didn't want to see and hear from that, not now... 😔 All these images, and everything she said there (31:11 to 31:36) brokes my heart again. It is very sad the way the team saw that, and I assume it must have been very hard to live that. And I, too, will never forget what happened this day, even if I wasn't born. Seeing all these debris falling down to the ground, still smoking from the explosion... That's so hard to see.

But this is how we improve. So as long as we don't forget, we need to head back to the stars, more safely, to achieve better things !

To return on the Voyager mission, I've actually realize that after the Neptune encounter, the enthusiasm, both for the people that for the crew, began to disappear, because there is "nothing" after. And I'm sure that it must have been sad, for the members who stayed, to see a lot of people changing their ways, leaving the mission and even almost forget about it for some of them. It happened a bit after Saturn encounter, and a lot after Neptune's, even if it wasn't over yet !

The Pale Blue Dot, what an incredible picture.
And to finish that properly, this journey, this very long journey, is not over yet ! So let's be part of that as long as we can, because this will possibly be the best space experience in our entire life 💕

[maxsaigon]

It's astonishing what humans have achieved in a short time. Humans have worked it out. Every scientist, engineer, director, the assembly team who have dedicated their lives, I salute all of you. We should be proud of our achievements from Venus to Voyager, pioneer, new horizons, to Robert Goddard. Thanks for everything 🙏

[trimetrodon]

The deep space missions flown by JPL are, IMO, some of the most impressive accomplishments of humankind in my lifetime. It boggles my mind thinking of the symphony of technologies, sciences & engineering that had to converge to launch these missions. And for so many of them to have continued to function so long, or to have ended, like Cassini, in a controlled manner, is a technical accomplishment unlike any other. Everyone involved should be very proud.

[Sundablakr]

Is the narrator of this video the same guy that narrates the Codex in the Mass Effect series?

[talkingmudcrab]

Triton and Io were my two favorite flybys from Voyager. Pretty cool how similar we found Pluto to be to Triton many years later with New Horizons.

[fcbrants]

This film should be "required viewing" especially for every student, but also for every man, woman & child in the USA.

[andrewnorgrove]

Been following These two satellites since the launch There now Light Distance = V1 = 22:04:11 (hh:mm:ss) V2= 18:25:27 (hh:mm:ss) Distance from Earth = 160 billion miles

[marc-andrebrunet]

📌I love science because of NASA,
And I love NASA because it's rocket science !!
🤘😎Go NASA
- "The pale blue dot" text of Carl Sagan provokes the same emotional reaction on me, as the "What a wonderful world" of Louis Armstrong.

[fredflintstoner]

Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !"
Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam ."
Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!"
Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..."
Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!"
Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky."
Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction."
Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"