Ship crossing a void but turns back, captain continues on in smaller ship

I am trying to find the title of a book where the premise was a large ship crossing a void. It is similar to the question posed here: Trying to find a novel about a multigenerational ship crossing space, but the novel I am trying to recall is not "The Dark Beyond The Stars."

The ship had been traveling for a long period of time across a void where it is unknown if the void has an end. The ship is the latest of a series of ships to attempt to cross the void.

Eventually, there is a split among the ship's inhabitants, and the ship turns back. However, the captain cannot abandon the exploration, so he takes a smaller craft and continues on. In the smaller craft, he has some type of hibernation. He awakens when another, later generation ship, approaches his craft. However, the captain -- being old -- dies just before the other ship arrives. The individuals on this other ship identify the craft as coming from an earlier, lost ship. The book concludes with the crew of the new ship having high hopes they will penetrate the void.

Thank you for any help in retrieving the title!