It is a good read, and not all that long. And some kudos to Ronald Reagan from the NYT.
These guys not only have to be experts at astrophysics - they must also be proficient in 1970s era programming languages.
One thing I didn't know is that it may be over a hundred and fifty years (without a radically new propulsion system) for the big planets to line up so that similar spacecraft can reach the heliosphere in a reasonable amount of time.