A Titan/Centaur rocket served as the launch vehicle for Voyager and was the last planned use of this type of launch vehicle prior to the era of the Space Transportation System (Shuttle Orbiter).
Foreword
In late summer of 1977, the United States launched two unmanned Voyager spacecraft on an extensive reconnaissance of the outer planets, a decade-long odyssey that could take them to 3 planets and as many as 18 planetary satellites. The first encounter was with the giant Jovian planetary system, 645 million kilometers (400 million miles) away. Passing by Jupiter and its complex satellite system in 1979, the Voyager spacecraft have collected and returned to Earth an enormous amount of data and information that may prove to be a keystone in understanding our solar system.
This publication provides an early look at the Jovian planetary system and contains a selected sample from the more than 30,000 images collected during this phase of the Voyager mission. While Voyager achieved an impressive record of accomplishments, full realization of the scientific value of this program must await the remaining Voyager encounters with Saturn and perhaps Uranus, and a detailed analysis of the data from all the spacecraft investigations.
Robert A. Frosch, Administrator National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Introduction
In March 1979 Voyager 1 swept past Jupiter, photographing both the giant planet and five of its moons. Four months later, a companion spacecraft, Voyager 2, made a similar encounter. Now, with Jupiter receding behind them, both spacecraft are headed toward the outer reaches of our solar system. In November 1980, Voyager 1 will fly past Saturn. Voyager 2, traveling at slower speeds, will reach the same way station in August 1981. Beyond there, the itinerary is less certain. In January 1986, eight years after its departure from Earth, Voyager 2 may sail within range of Uranus, taking closeup pictures of that distant planet for the first time. Long after they have exhausted their fuel supplies and their radios have fallen silent, both spacecraft will continue their traverse through space and beyond our solar system, on an endless journey.
An Apollo 12 astronaut retrieves Surveyor 3 hardware for Earth laboratory analysis after 30 months exposure on lunar surface.
