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Voyager spacecraft
The Voyager 2 spacecraft was launched in 1977, originally planned as Mariner 12 of the Mariner program. It is identical to its sister Voyager program craft, Voyager 1. Voyager 2 followed a
somewhat different trajectory during its Saturn encounter,
however, bypassing a close encounter with Titan in favour of taking
advantage of a gravitational slingshot to travel on
to Uranus and Neptune. It became the first and so far only probe to visit those two planets.
Planets Visited
Voyager 2 launched on August 20, 1977, from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a Titan-Centaur rocket. The closest approach to Jupiter occurred on July 9,
1979, closest approach to Saturn occurred on August 25, 1981, closest approach to Uranus occurred on January 24, 1986 and closest approach to Neptune occurred on August
25, 1989.
Escaping Solar System
As of August 24, 2003, Voyager 2 was at a distance of 10.6 billion kilometers (71 AU) and is escaping the solar system at a speed of
about 3.3 AU per year (ca. 15 km/s). It will be approximately 40,000 years before Voyager 2 approaches another planetary
system.
Voyager 2 is expected to keep on transmitting into the 2030s.
Golden Record
Voyager Golden Record
Voyager 2 carries with it a golden record (Voyager Golden
Record) that contains pictures and sounds of Earth, along with symbolic directions for playing the record. The contents of
this record were selected by a committee chaired by Carl Sagan.
See also
External links
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