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KF5JRV > TODAY    20.08.25 11:00l 38 Lines 3299 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Aug 20
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On August 20, 1911, a dispatcher in the New York Times office sends a blazingly fast telegram around the world via commercial s
ervice. Exactly 66 years later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sends a different kind of messageâ€öa 
phonograph record containing information about Earth for extraterrestrial beingsâ€öshooting into space aboard the unmanned spac
ecraft Voyager II.

The Times decided to send its 1911 telegram in order to determine how fast a commercial message could be sent around the world 
by telegraph cable. The message, reading simply “This message sent around the world,� left the dispatch room on the 17th fl
oor of the Times building in New York at 7 p.m. on August 20. After it traveled more than 28,000 miles, being relayed by 16 dif
ferent operators, through San Francisco, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Saigon, Singapore, Bombay, Malta, Lisbon and the Azores–
among other locations–the reply was received by the same operator 16.5 minutes later. It was the fastest time achieved by a c
ommercial cablegram since the opening of the Pacific cable in 1900 by the Commercial Cable Company.

On August 20, 1977, a NASA rocket launched Voyager II, an unmanned 1,820-pound spacecraft, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was
 the first of two such crafts to be launched that year on a “Grand Tour� of the outer planets, organized to coincide with a
 rare alignment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Aboard Voyager II was a 12-inch copper phonograph record called “Soun
ds of Earth.� Intended as a kind of introductory time capsule, the record included greetings in 60 languages and scientific i
nformation about Earth and the human race, along with classical, jazz and rock ‘nâ€Ö roll music, nature sounds like thunder a
nd surf, and recorded messages from President Jimmy Carter and other world leaders.

The brainchild of astronomer Carl Sagan, the record was sent with Voyager II and its twin craft, Voyager I–launched just two 
weeks later–in the faint hope that it might one day be discovered by extraterrestrial creatures. The record was sealed in an 
aluminum jacket that would keep it intact for 1 billion years, along with instructions on how to play the record, with a cartri
dge and needle provided.

More importantly, the two Voyager craft were designed to explore the outer solar system and send information and photographs of
 the distant planets to Earth. Over the next 12 years, the mission proved a smashing success. After both craft flew by Jupiter 
and Saturn, Voyager I went flying off towards the solar systemâ€Ös edge while Voyager II visited Uranus and Neptune before sail
ing off to join its twin in the outer solar system.

Thanks to the Voyager program, NASA scientists gained a wealth of information about the outer planets, including close-up photo
graphs of Saturnâ€Ös seven rings; evidence of active geysers and volcanoes exploding on some of the four planetsâ€Ö 22 moons; w
inds of more than 1,500 mph on Neptune; and measurements of the magnetic fields on Uranus and Neptune. The two craft were expec
ted to send data until their plutonium-based power sources ran out. After that, they will continue to sail on through the galax
y for millions of years to come, barring some unexpected collisio




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