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| Voyager Mission
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Voyager 1
Country: USA
Mission: Jupiter & Saturn Flyby
Launched: September 5, 1977
Launch Vehicle: Titan III - Centaur and TE 364-4 upper stage.
Spacecraft Mass: 825 kg
Voyager 2
Country: USA
Mission: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune Flyby
Launched: August 20, 1977
Launch Vehicle: Titan III - Centaur and TE 364-4 upper stage.
Spacecraft Mass: 825 kg
The Voyager Mission, which includes the twin spacecraft Voyager 1 and 2, was launched by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) in the summer of 1977. The original objective of this particular mission was to take advantage of a rare geometric arrangement of the outer planets in the late 1970s and the 1980s. This layout of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, which occurs about every 175 years, allows a spacecraft on a particular flight path to swing from one planet to the next using this "gravity assist". The flyby of each planet bends the spacecraft's flight path and increases its velocity enough to deliver it to the next destination. The flight time to Neptune can be reduced by a big margin from 30 years to 12. Though NASA originally budgeted only for the flyby of Jupiter and Saturn, they later decided to let the spacecraft continue with their journey towards Uranus and Neptune.
Both Voyager 1 and 2 collected much valuable information and data on the four planets and their satellites, magnetic fields, and unique ring system that each possessed. Voyager spacecraft discovered and witnessed nine volcanic eruptions on Io during the Jupiter flyby. Io is the only other body in the solar system other than the earth known to man, which still have active volcanoes. Voyager also did a close-up study on the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, which had puzzled astronomers. Voyager photos sent back to earth shown that is actually an enormous hurricane that had been raining on Jupiter for the past 3 centuries. Other surprise discoveries include the theory behind Saturnšs rings formation and its new shepherding satellites, Uranusšs weird twist of magnetic fields and Neptunešs Great Dark Spot which resembles the Great Red Spot on Jupiter.
Voyager 1 is now leaving the solar system, rising above the ecliptic plane at an angle of about 35 degrees at a rate of about 520 million kilometers (about 320 million miles) a year. Voyager 2 is also headed out of the solar system, diving below the ecliptic plane at an angle of about 48 degrees and a rate of about 470 million kilometers (about 290 million miles) a year. Both spacecraft will continue to study ultraviolet sources among the stars, and the fields and particles instruments aboard the Voyagers will continue to search for the boundary between the Sun's influence and interstellar space. The Voyagers are expected to return valuable data for two or three more decades.
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