Voyager

Voyager 1, launched September 5, 1977, and Voyager 2, launched August 20, 1977 are two identical spacecraft. Voyager 1 passes the 50 AU mark from the Sun on October 9, 1992. Both spacecraft are still operational and provide data of scientific value. See NASA, V'Ger.

Both probes took photographs of Jupiter and Saturn, and V2 also looked at Uranus and Neptune. They took lots of pictures of moons, rings, and Jupiter's Great Red Spot. They discovered the volcanoes on Io and the Jovian rings. Now in deep space, they are still active. They are going a bit slower than theory says they should. No one knows why.

Also a less popular graphical browser. The reason it never took off is probably because the only platforms I know there are versions for are Amiga and QNX, altough the QNX-version is more advanced. I hailed it back when I had an Amiga as it was the only browser that made the WWW even close to enjoyable on an Amiga.

Includes many nice features, even supports javascript, but still doesn't match the likes of Netscape or (shudder) Internet Explorer.

Voyager (The Web Browser) is made by QNX Software Systems Ltd (QSSL for short), and is found most commonly on net based appliances that utilize QNX 4 or the QNX 6. Currently (as of writing this) it has support for things such as; JavaScript, HTML 3.2, frames, tables, proxy servers, SOCKS, server push, client pull, progressive image display, animated GIFs, JPEGs, FTP, basic and digest authentication, printing, gopher, cookies, plug-ins (Including Flash 4 and Real Media), CGI, POP3, IMAP4, SMTP, and more.

Its genrally fast and is being worked on quite a bit by QSSL now (Adding things like SSL). If you wish to test it I suggest you grab the free download of the QNX Realtime Platform and give it a whirl. It really isnt that bad.

Voyager is also the name of the first aircraft ever to fly around the world without stopping or re-fuelling. The same aircraft (and the same flight) also holds the world record for the greatest distance ever flown by a powered aircraft without re-fuelling, and the longest duration. The distance is officially logged as 26,366 miles (40,212 km), while the total time from take-off to landing was 9 days, 3 minutes and 44 seconds.

The unpowered Breitling Orbiter 3 balloon subsequently took the records for longest flight in terms of distance and duration

The aircraft, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager took off on the morning of December 14, 1986, from Edwards Air Force Base in California and landed on the same runway on December 23rd, with just 8.4 gallons of fuel to spare.

The original aircraft is now housed in the entrance hall to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, alongside the Wright Brothers ‘flyer’, Charles Lindbergh’s Spirit of St Louis, Chuck Yeager’s Bell X-1 and many other original aircraft which achieved landmark flights.

The Voyager aircraft was designed by Rutan’s brother, Elbert L. (Burt) Rutan, and weighed just 939 pounds (426 kg) unladen and unfuelled. The all-up take-off weight at the start of the record-breaking flight was 9,694.5 pounds (4397 kg). The extra weight was mostly due to 7000 pounds of fuel, but also included supplies and pilots.

Many will remember the take-off run along the huge runway at Edwards. The plane started off with its wingtips touching the ground, and as it gradually picked up speed, over its long, long take-off run, the wingtips continued to rub along the ground, getting more and more abraded, until the very last moment. Suddenly, like magic, the aerodynamic forces gave enough lift to raise them into the air, and very shortly after, the whole craft left the ground, seemingly hanging from its up-turned wingtips. Within the first few minutes of the flight, Rutan had to shake off the damaged portions with some careful flying, in order to reduce drag.

The craft had two propellers, a normal prop at the front of the aircraft and a pusher prop at the tail end of the main fuselage. The front prop was supposed to be used only at take-off and initial climb to provide the speed and lift needed to take it from ground level up to its cruising altitude around 11 000 feet (3300m), the pusher was used in the main cruise. Unfortunately, in the final hours of the flight, problems with a fuel pump stopped fuel reaching the rear prop, and the front prop was switched on once more. Rutan identified the problem, and after switching off both engines, was then able to re-start the rear prop.

As a design, the craft looked a little like a trimaran, with a single, central fuselage, 72 feet long and 2 feet wide (internal dimensions) and two outriggers. A canard wing at the front gave lift and stability, while the main wing (span 110 feet/ 33m) provides the primary lift. Two outriggers extend backwards, and each supports a tailfin. The whole is made of a honeycomb composite shell. The craft was relatively fragile, and both pilots took off knowing that strong winds (above about 83 knots) would tear off the wings, leaving the aircraft to plummet out of the sky.

Sources

• http://www.au.af.mil/au/goe/eaglebios/88bios/yeagj88.htm
• http://users.commkey.net/fussichen/otdFly.htm
• http://www.dickrutan.com/

1996 album from Mike Oldfield. Personally, I believe this is one of his best albums (along with The Songs of Distant Earth and, of course, Tubular Bells). I got this album before TSODE, and I was positively surprised. I guessed it was good, but I never knew it was that good =)

The album is going very much back to the "dreamy" past; the tune is (as reinforced by the arrangements) deeply Celtic. All songs are instrumental, Mike's amazing guitar skills cut right to the essence of the songs; I particularly liked the solos in Wild Goose etc... I liked The Song of the Sun best, but none of the other songs fall far behind; the traditional (in Mike's terms) 12-minute piece Mont St. Michel is particularly impressive.

The opening song is from a group called Luar na Lubre. Also, some songs are credited as "traditional" tunes, but are not: Women of Ireland was made by Seán Ó Riada and Dark Island by Iain McLachlan. (I heard this from tubular.net...)

Songs:

1. The Song of the Sun
2. Celtic Rain
3. The Hero*
4. Women of Ireland*
5. The Voyager
6. She Moved Through the Fair*
7. Dark Island*
8. Wild Goose Flaps its Wings
9. Flowers of the Forest*
10. Mont St Michel

* = trad. arr. by Mike Oldfield (but see note), others by Mike Oldfield, except for the first track (by Bieito Romero).

The Voyager program is a series of U.S. unmanned space missions that consists of a pair of unmanned scientific probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a favorable planetary alignment of the late 1970s. Their main objective was to study Jupiter and Saturn, though they have been modified through the use of remote reprogramming, and are en route to exit the solar system. They were built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The main scientist who developed the spacecraft, was Dr. Carl Sagan. The probes recently achieved their 12 thousandth day in space, and are the farthest man made objects from planet Earth. The probes were originally conceived as a part of the Mariner program, though the design was changed to the point that NASA felt the changes merited a change in name. The probes sent data back to Earth, and greatly increased our understanding of the planets known as Gas Giants.

Voy"a*ger (?), n. [Cf. F. voyager traveling.]

One who voyages; one who sails or passes by sea or water.

 

© Webster 1913.