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Mission record

Voyager 1

Also known as Mariner Jupiter-Saturn 1

NASA, JPL · Launched

Explore trajectory

Active · Active

NASA's Voyager 1 flew past Jupiter and Saturn before becoming the first human-made object to enter interstellar space, where its extended mission continues.

Destinations
Jupiter, Saturn
Launch vehicle
Titan IIIE-Centaur
Launch site
Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41
Countries
United States
Mission types
Flyby, Interstellar

Chronology

Mission timeline

  1. Launch

    Launch from Cape Canaveral

    Earth

  2. Flyby

    Closest approach to Jupiter

    Jupiter

  3. Flyby

    Closest approach to Saturn

    Saturn

  4. Milestone

    Entered interstellar space

Mission architecture

Vehicles

Trajectory record

Precise trajectory

Sun-centred J2000 states sampled offline from NASA/JPL NAIF SPICE kernels with geometric (NONE) aberration correction. The merged long-arc cruise solution is overridden at each flyby by the encounter-specific reconstructed navigation kernels, and DE440s is furnished last so planetary positions match the committed body ephemerides. Sampling is weekly during cruise and tightens to 60 s within six hours of each closest approach. The record begins at the kernel's first tracked state, about 63 minutes after launch. States after the 1980 Saturn encounter are long-term propagation of the last reconstructed solution rather than tracked navigation data. The computed Saturn closest approach of 184,141 km sits 159 km below the 184,300 km published by the Planetary Data System; the reconstructed navigation kernel is followed here and the difference is recorded rather than reconciled.

J2000 · Sun-centered · 5610 samples

Coverage: September 5, 1977 to August 22, 2026

Provenance

Sources

Each source is listed once and labeled with the mission, event, trajectory, or destination/body context it supports.

Data verified through August 22, 2026