page_title: Voyager 1
section_title: Launch and trajectory
hierarchical_section_title: Voyager 1 / Mission profile / Launch and trajectory
caption_attribution_description: Voyager 1, Titan English: The Voyager 1 aboard the Titan III/Centaur lifted off on September 5, 1977, joining its sister spacecraft, the Voyager 2, on a mission to the outer planets. Deutsch: Start der Raumsonde Voyager 1 mit einer Titan-IIIE-Centaur-Rakete am 5. September 1977.
context_page_description: Voyager 1 is a space probe that was launched by NASA on September 5, 1977. Part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System, Voyager 1 was launched 16 days after its twin, Voyager 2. Having operated for 42 years, 11 months and 25 days as of August 30, 2020, the spacecraft still communicates with the Deep Space Network to receive routine commands and to transmit data to Earth. Real-time distance and velocity data is provided by NASA and JPL. At a distance of 149.39 AU from Earth as of July 26, 2020, it is the most distant man-made object from Earth.
  The probe's objectives included flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Although the spacecraft's course could have been altered to include a Pluto encounter by forgoing the Titan flyby, exploration of the moon took priority because it was known to have a substantial atmosphere. Voyager 1 studied the weather, magnetic fields, and rings of the two planets and was the first probe to provide detailed images of their moons.
context_section_description: The Voyager 1 probe was launched on September 5, 1977, from Launch Complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, aboard a Titan IIIE launch vehicle. The Voyager 2 probe had been launched two weeks earlier, on August 20, 1977. Despite being launched later, Voyager 1 reached both Jupiter and Saturn sooner, following a shorter trajectory.
  Voyager 1's initial orbit had an aphelion of 8.9 AU, just a little short of Saturn's orbit of 9.5 AU. Voyager 2's initial orbit had an aphelion of 6.2 AU, well short of Saturn's orbit.
caption: Voyager 1 lifted off atop a Titan IIIE.
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