The Interstellar Age: The Story of the NASA Men and Women Who Flew the Forty-Year Voyager Mission

The Voyager program has certainly not received the attention of the Apollo program, but in many ways this is a program that is only there is you get interested and find out how amazing the whole thing is. I recently saw a PBS documentary where the author was interviewed and wanted to check out this book as a result. I am very glad I did. This is a history, but it isn't written in a straightforward fashion with the beginning of the program and culminating in what exactly since the problem is Voyager is still a viable operating program ( and recently the JPL - Jet Propulsion Laboratory - fired up thrusters that hadn't been activated in 37 years and corrected a slight deviation in attitude for this amazing machine) so there isn't an end with splashdown. But I love how the author did this and the narrative is so well done I read the whole thing through. Fascinating stuff. What is amazing is how the technology of 1975 essentially is out there and still produced a viable machine. Let that sink in that the program was able to proceed being able to fly-by planets like Jupiter and Neptune using a rare line-up of planets using low band technology that still has provided tremendous photographs and images, and it in a void of space beyond our system, Amazing stuff herein. Well worth reading.

If you are a fan of space exploration or want to know more about the Voyager spacecraft craft, you should read this. Amazing that Voyager 1 has remained operational for about 48 years!

In “The Interstellar Age: Inside the Forty-Year Voyager Mission,” Jim Bell tells the story of NASA’s Voyagers 1 and 2, from the original realization that a rare planetary alignment would allow a Grand Tour of the outer solar system through their current work mapping the boundary between the sun’s influence and interstellar space. As awe-inspiring as the information Voyager is, Bell humanizes his narrative by focusing on the lives and work of those involved in the project in one form or another over its 40-year history. He focuses on how they organized their lives around the planetary fly-bys and how they inscribed their hopes and dreams onto Voyager 1 and 2, literally in the case of the Golden Record. Discussing the differences between the period in which Voyager launched and now, Bell writes of New Horizons (which flew-by Pluto in 2015), “It was launched without an interstellar message like Voyager’s on board. Perhaps this is a sign of a more anxious age” (pg. 97). In this, Bell examines the shifting national mood since the 1970s and new concerns about possible contact with extraterrestrial life based on our own history, such as the encounters between the Old World and the New. In turning to follow-up missions like Galileo and Cassini, which expanded upon the Voyager mission’s data from Jupiter and Saturn, respectively, Bell argues that both Uranus and Neptune deserve follow-up as they each only received a single fly-by and the most recent information comes at a distance from Earth-based observatories. He writes, “In the Interstellar Age, we know that to truly get to know a place, you’ve got to spend real time there, among the locals, learning their strange, alien ways” (pg. 189). Both NASA aficionados and those studying the history of space flight will find Bell’s work a valuable addition to their bookshelves.

As long as the Voyager space probes keep going there will continue to be more written about them. Most of the material has already been covered in other books. I bought this just to learn of any new tidbits of information that may not have been covered before. For the price it was worth it even for a few scraps of new information.

A must read for anyone interested in space, NASA, and of course, the Voyager missions. Very well written and engaging. His excitement made me want to be a part of everything he describes watching and doing as either a scientist or even just an observer during the Voyager project. Although the Voyager spacecraft are not as sophisticated as newer probes, the sheer length and breadth of their journeys and discoveries make them true monuments of human achievement.

'The Interstellar Age' is an account of the Voyager mission through the eyes of the author, Jim Bell. There is information in the book about Bell's education and early times in the planetary science field, and there is mention of many other individuals who were associated with the Voyager program. The first few chapters are essentially a historical introduction to the project, as well as discussions of Bell's early days. The middle of the book investigates the Voyagers individual visits to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (the latter two were only visited by Voyager 2). The last section talks about the future of the program, now that over 25 years have passed since the last planetary encounter with Neptune. All in all, the book is interesting, easily readable, and packed with a lot of great material about the Voyager program. But this is not a book which is just about Voyager - rather, it is a book about this program through the eyes of the author and there is a lot of autobiographical material contained within the book. At time, I hoped there could be some more detail about what the Voyagers actually saw when they visited the planets. It also felt like there was a great deal of material on the moons of the planets at the expense of the planetary material itself. I'm not sure if there are other good books about the Voyager program out there, so this is a good option if you want to learn about the program. Despite the less than optimal coverage of the mission and perhaps over-reliance on the author's personal experiences, the book is worth the read.

I totally adore the Voyagers, and this is a very accessible book around the amazing projects. It introduces terms I did not know, and I enjoyed reading the stories from people actually involved in the project. It charts as well the authors journey, it was really an incredible time to be in the industry

Amazing read and very detailed.

Got the book in good condition. The content of the book is also nice. Awesome read.

Il libro mi è piaciuto molto perché è ricco di dettagli tecnici ma soprattutto è in grado di trasmettere l'enorme sforzo fatto e l’emozione provata da chi ha partecipato allo sviluppo di questa missione e alla sua esecuzione nel corso di oltre 40 anni. Voyager è probabilmente uno degli esperimenti scientifici meglio progettati e riusciti della storia e che ancora oggi non smette di fornirci risultati unici. Raccomando il libro a chi è appassionato di spazio ma più in generale a chiunque voglia comprendere a fondo il contesto e gli ideali che hanno guidato questa missione e soprattutto L e persone che hanno reso possibile tutto questo.

Excellent book, very well written. The author makes you aware of the enormous journey of the Voyager programme, and the groundbreaking technical achievements of the project. As the mission is still operational after 40(!) years, I would be more than interested in an update. One of the most interesting non fiction books I have ever read.