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Voyager
Credit - NASA
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Class: Planetary. Type: Outer Planets. Destination: Outer Planets. Nation: USA. Agency: NASA, JPL. Manufacturer: JPL. The twin Voyager spacecraft were designed to perform close-up observations of the atmospheres, magnetospheres, rings, and satellites of Jupiter and Saturn. The mission was originally designed to make a "Grand Tour" of all five outer planets, but was descoped due to funding limitations. However, following its planned encounter with Saturn, Voyager 2's planetary mission was extended, and it was placed on a trajectory to allow flybys of Uranus and Neptune. Additional planetary flybys for Voyager 1 were sacrificed to permit better science observations at Saturn.
Between them, Voyager 1 and 2 made numerous discoveries, including the discovery of new moons about several of the planets, Uranus' unique magnetic field, and the presence of volcanic activity on Io. Following their final planetary encounters, the vehicles began the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM), which would measure interstellar fields, particles, and waves to the outer limits of the Sun's sphere of influence, and possibly beyond. Both spacecraft would eventually depart our solar system and would travel towards other star systems. Each vehicle carried a gold phonograph record called "Sounds of Earth", bearing messages, sounds, and pictures from our planet as greetings to any species who recovered the spacecraft. The cost of the Voyager 1 and 2 missions, including the spacecraft development, launch, and mission operations through the Neptune encounter, was $865 million. An additional $30 million was provided to fund the VIM for two years following the Neptune encounter.
Payloads included:- Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) - two cameras for visible wavelength imaging. "Wide angle camera" had 200 mm focal length, 60 mm aperture; "Narrow angle camera" had 1500 mm focal length with 176 mm aperture. Both cameras equipped with 8 filters.
- Photopolarimeter Subsystem (PPS) - used to measure surface textures and compositions by detecting how light changes when reflected off of a surface.
- Infrared Interferometer Spectrometer and Radiometer (IRIS) - used to measure surface temperatures, elemental composition of atmospheres and solid bodies, and the IR, visible, and UV energy reflected from solid bodies.
- Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS) - used to measure atmospheric elemental compositions and identify the presence of certain physical processes.
- Radio Science Subsystem (RSS) - used the spacecraft telemetry system to measure atmospheric densities, temperatures, and pressures, as well as to estimate the width, shape, and thickness of planetary rings.
- Planetary Radio Astronomy (PRA) - measured RF signals emitted by the Sun and planetary systems.
- Plasma Wave Subsystem (PWS) - similar to the PRA, but worked at different frequencies.
- Magnetometer (MAG) - measured solar and planetary magnetic fields.
- Plasma Subsystem (PLS), Low Energy Charged Particle (LECP), Cosmic Ray Subsystem (CRS) (PPS) - three independent instruments that were used to detect charged particles in different energy ranges.
Typical orbit: Solar system escape trajectory. Maximum Diameter: 3.70 m (12.10 ft). Span: 13.00 m (42.00 ft). Mass: 800 kg (1,760 lb).
Voyager Chronology - 1977 August 20 - Voyager 2 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC41. Launch Vehicle: Titan. Mass: 800 kg (1,760 lb).
Jupiter flyby 7/9/79, Saturn flyby 8/26/81, Uranus flyby 1/24/86, Neptune flyby 8/25/89. Solar system escape trajectory. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).
- 1977 September 5 - Voyager 1 - Launch Site: Cape Canaveral. Launch Complex: LC41. Launch Vehicle: Titan. Mass: 800 kg (1,760 lb).
Jupiter flyby 3/5/79, Saturn flyby 11/12/80. Solar system escape trajectory. Spacecraft engaged in research and exploration of the upper atmosphere or outer space (US Cat B).
- 1979 March 5 - Voyager 1, Jupiter Flyby -
- 1979 July 9 - Voyager 2, Jupiter Flyby -
- 1980 January 19 - Voyager 1's Discovery of Saturn Moon Janus -
- 1980 January 26 - Voyager 1's Discovery of Saturn Moon Epimetheus -
- 1980 April 8 - Voyager 1's Discovery of Saturn Moon Telesto -
- 1980 November 12 - Voyager 1, Saturn Flyby -
- 1981 August 26 - Voyager 2, Saturn Flyby -
- 1986 January 24 - Voyager 2, Uranus Flyby -
- 1989 August 25 - Voyager 2 Neptune Flyby -
- 1990 February 14 - Voyager 1, Family Portrait Images -
- 2003 November 5 - Voyager 1 Reaches 90 AU From Sun -
Bibliography:- McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page (launch records), Harvard University, 1997-present. Web Address when accessed: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.
- JPL Mission and Spacecraft Library, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 1997. Web Address when accessed: http://msl.jpl.nasa.gov/home.html.
- McDowell, Jonathan, Launch Log, October 1998. Web Address when accessed: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/log/launch.html.
- NASA Report, Voyager Mission to the Outer Planets, Web Address when accessed: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/voyager.pdf.
- NASA Report, Flight and mission operations support for Voyager spacecraft launching and Viking-Mars mission, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19780015007_1978015007.pdf.
- NASA Report, The Voyager Interstellar Mission, Web Address when accessed: http://techreports.jpl.nasa.gov/1996/96-1322.pdf.
- NASA Report, Voyager: The grandest tour. The mission to the outer planets, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19950019434_1995119434.pdf.
- NASA Report, The Voyager Neptune travel guide, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19900004096_1990004096.pdf.
- NASA Report, Voyager 1 and 2 atlas of six Saturnian satellites, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19840027171_1984027171.pdf.
- NASA Report, Voyager to Jupiter, volume 1, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19950002803_1995102803.pdf.
- NASA Report, Voyager to Jupiter, volume 2, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19950002788_1995102788.pdf.
- NASA Report, Voyager to Jupiter, volume 3, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19950002789_1995102789.pdf.
- NASA Report, Voyager to Saturn, volume 4, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19950002795_1995102795.pdf.
- NASA Report, Voyager to Saturn, volume 5, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19950002804_1995102804.pdf.
- NASA Report, Voyages to Saturn, Web Address when accessed: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19820018276_1982018276.pdf.