SCIENCE STUDIO: Voyager Propulsion System

In this 1963 photograph, Ben Abeles demonstrates how the silicon-germanium alloys he and George Cody developed could convert heat directly into electricity, which in this case was used to power a small fan.

Credit Alexander Magoun, David Sarnoff Research Center

    Keith & Russ talk with physicists George Cody and Benjamin Abeles, who developed the vehicle propulsion system for the Voyager spacecraft.  Their silicon-germanium thermoelectric power generator, developed in the 1960s, is still being used by interplanetary spacecraft today.  

Aired Jan. 19, 2014.