Voyager 2 - Launch and Trajectory

Launch and Trajectory

The Voyager 2 probe was launched on August 20, 1977, by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a Titan IIIE/Centaur launch vehicle. Two weeks later, the twin Voyager 1 probe would be launched on September 5, 1977. However, Voyager 1 would reach both Jupiter and Saturn sooner, as Voyager 2 had been launched into a longer, more circular trajectory.

• Voyager 2 launch on August 20, 1977 with a Titan IIIE/Centaur.

• Trajectory of Voyager 2 primary mission.

• Plot of Voyager 2's heliocentric velocity against its distance from the Sun, illustrating the use of gravity assist to accelerate the spacecraft by Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. To observe Triton, Voyager 2 passed over Neptune's north pole resulting in an acceleration out of the plane of the ecliptic and reduced velocity away from the Sun.