“How long does it take to fly to the edge of the solar system?” began the Sept. 9 story in The Gazette (“Voyager 1 set to burst solar system bubble, move to parts unknown”) about the Voyager 1 spacecraft that is nearing the edge of our solar system. Now traveling a million miles a day, Voyager 1 is 11 billion miles from our sun, 35 years after it was launched.

If Voyager 1 were on a turnpike paying $1 for each mile traveled, it would have paid a small fraction of our national debt of more than $16 trillion. The article said that Voyager 1 is set to burst the bubble and move to parts unknown. Our country is doing the same. If I may paraphrase astronaut Jack Swigert, “America, we have a problem.” We need to set a new course. Vote Republican.

Mark Urlaub

Vinton