{"id":803423,"date":"2026-08-20T08:21:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T13:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=803423"},"modified":"2026-08-20T08:21:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T13:21:30","slug":"voyager-2-spacecraft-launched-49-years-ago-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=803423","title":{"rendered":"Voyager 2 spacecraft launched 49 years ago today"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nJohn Casani was the Voyager project manager in 1977. Here he is holding a small flag that was folded and sewn into the thermal blankets of the Voyager 2 spacecraft before launch. Voyager 2 is behind him, and the famous golden record the Voyagers carried is in front. Read about the story of the record here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Science news, night sky events and beautiful photos, all in one place.<\/strong> Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.<\/p>\n
Voyager 2 launched 49 years ago<\/h3>\n
NASA launched the phenomenal Voyager 2 space probe to the outer solar system on August 20, 1977. Voyager 2 went up some weeks before its twin craft, Voyager 1, which moved faster and eventually passed it. <\/p>\n
Later, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to leave the solar system in August 2012. It is now the most distant human-made object from Earth. In fact, on November 18, 2026, Voyager 1 spacecraft will be 16,094,799,096 miles (25,902,068,356 kilometers) away from Earth. That\u2019s the distance light travels in 24 hours, also known as one light-day.<\/p>\n
Voyager 2 left the solar system in November 2018. So both Voyagers are now in interstellar space. Voyager 2 was left flying solo for seven months in 2020 while repairs were made to the radio antenna that commands it. The only radio antenna that can command the space probe \u2013 the Deep Space Station 43 (DSS43) antenna in Canberra, Australia \u2013 was then offline during the repairs. After the completion of the repairs, communications were restored.<\/p>\n
Today, transmissions from Voyager 2 are faint and travel a long distance. But the craft still transmits and receives data via NASA\u2019s Deep Space Network. Scientists believe it will be able to continue communications through 2027.<\/p>\n
Where are Voyager 1 and 2 now?<\/p>\nAs Voyager 2 sped away from Earth, it looked back and acquired this image of a crescent-shaped Earth and moon \u2013 the first of its kind ever taken by a spacecraft \u2013 on September 18, 1977. Voyager 2 was then 7.3 million miles (11.7 million kilometers) from Earth. Image via NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to visit all 4 gas giant planets<\/h3>\nA region of Jupiter\u2019s southern hemisphere extending from the Great Red Spot to the south pole. Before the Voyagers, we did not know Jupiter\u2019s banded atmosphere, or Red Spot, contained so much detail. Image via NASA\/ JPL\/ CalTech.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nBefore the Voyagers, we did not know that Saturn\u2019s rings consisted of thousands of individual ringlets. In this Voyager 2 image from 1981, you can also see the mysterious \u201cspokes\u201d in Saturn\u2019s rings. Image via NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nVoyager 2 is still the only spacecraft to have visited the outer planets Uranus and Neptune. Here is Uranus as seen by Voyager 2 in 1986. To the spacecraft, the planet appeared as a featureless blue ball. Image via NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nVoyager 2 passed Neptune in 1989. It saw cloud features in Neptune\u2019s atmosphere, which were tracked by Voyager\u2019s cameras as the craft swept past. Image via NASA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
NASA Voyager photo gallery<\/p>\n
The Grand Tour was a phenomenal success<\/h3>\n
Initially, NASA conceived of the Voyager mission in the 1960s as a planetary Grand Tour to study the outer planets. The fact that all four outer planets would be, temporarily, within one quadrant of the solar system around the decade of the 1980s inspired the idea. However, funding difficulties intervened, and for a time it appeared the Grand Tour would never be realized. <\/p>\n
Ultimately, Voyager 2\u2019s launch took advantage not only of this particular configuration of planets, but also of a new technique called a gravity assist<\/em>. By using the gravity of planets for propulsion and direction, this technique let the craft visit all four outer planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune), while requiring a minimal amount of propellant and less time traveling between planets.<\/p>\n
The plan hinged on whether Voyager 1 would be able to perform a successful flyby of Saturn\u2019s large and intriguing moon Titan. Of course Voyager 1 succeeded, and Voyager 2 got the go-ahead to travel on toward Uranus and Neptune, ultimately realizing the vision of the planetary Grand Tour.<\/p>\n
Voyager 2 remains the only craft from Earth to have visited Uranus and Neptune.<\/p>\n
Bottom line: The phenomenal Voyager 2 spacecraft launched on August 20, 1977. It ultimately visited all four outer planets \u2013 Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune \u2013 and remains the only craft from Earth to have done so.<\/p>\n
JPL\/ NASA Voyager website<\/p>\n
Read more: Voyager 2 sends back insights on interstellar space<\/p>\n
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Deborah Byrd<\/h4>\n
View Articles\n <\/p><\/div>\n
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About the Author:<\/h6>\n
Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. “Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Elizabeth Howell<\/h4>\n
View Articles\n <\/p><\/div>\n
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About the Author:<\/h6>\n
Elizabeth Howell is an award-winning Canadian journalist who can’t stop talking about space and science. As a teenager, she saw the movie Apollo 13 and wanted to be an astronaut. That hasn’t happened – yet – but at least she gets to write about them. Elizabeth’s favourite career moments so far include attending three shuttle launches, and legitimately writing the word “snot” into a Mars Curiosity story. Besides EarthSky, you can read Elizabeth’s work in SPACE.com, Universe Today, SEN.com, All About Space and other fun places. Elizabeth’s space obsession extends to her hobbies; she’s a big fan of Battlestar: Galactica and has met all five TV Star Trek captains. She even visited Captain Kirk’s future birthplace in small-town Iowa.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
![\"Crescent-shaped](\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2013\/08\/voyager-2-earth-moon.jpg\")
![\"Closeup](\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2013\/08\/jupiter-red-spot-Voyager-2-1979.jpg\")
![\"Arc](\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2013\/08\/saturn-voyager-2-spokes-1981-e1376948692801.jpg\")
![\"A](\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2013\/08\/Uranus-Voyager-2-1986-e1376948828532.jpg\")
![\"A](\"https:\/\/earthsky.org\/upl\/2013\/08\/Neptune-Voyager-2-1989-e1376949041139.jpg\")