Voyager 1
Voyager 1 is a spacecraft used by NASA to explore Jupiter and Saturn. It is identical in form to its sister ship, Voyager 2.
 Model of the Voyager spacecraft design | |
| Mission type | Outer planetary, heliosphere, and interstellar medium exploration |
|---|---|
| Operator | NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| COSPAR ID | 1977-084A[1] |
| SATCAT no. | 10321[2] |
| Website | voyager |
| Mission duration |
|
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Manufacturer | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Launch mass | 825.5 kg (1,820 lb) |
| Power | 470 watts (at launch) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | September 5, 1977, 12:56:00 UTC |
| Rocket | Titan IIIE |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41 |
| Flyby of Jupiter | |
| Closest approach | March 5, 1979 |
| Distance | 349,000 km (217,000 mi) |
| Flyby of Saturn | |
| Closest approach | November 12, 1980 |
| Distance | 124,000 km (77,000 mi) |
| Flyby of Titan (atmosphere study) | |
| Closest approach | November 12, 1980 |
| Distance | 6,490 km (4,030 mi) |
Voyager 1 was launched on September 5, 1977, to study the outer planets of the Solar System. It is now in an extended mission. Its encounter with Saturn and Titan sent it on a hyperbolic trajectory out of the solar system, traveling at 17 km/s (38,000 mph; 61,000 km/h) which is much faster than escape velocity.
Voyager 1's research team announced on August 25, 2012 that it had left the solar system. It passed out of the heliosphere and into interstellar space.
Both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 include the Voyager Golden Record, which is a recording of sounds and images of life on Earth. It was designed by a team headed by Carl Sagan to communicate with extraterrestrial life.
Related pagesEdit
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ "Voyager 1". NSSDC Master Catalog. NASA/NSSDC. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2013. Cite uses deprecated parameter
|dead-url=(help) - ↑ "Voyager 1". N2YO. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
