Editing Spacecraft (section)

==== Voyager program ====
{{Main|Voyager program}}
The identical [[Voyager program|Voyager probes]], weighing {{convert|721.9|kg|lb}},<ref>{{Cite web |title=Voyager 1 - NASA Science |url=https://science.nasa.gov/mission/voyager-1/ |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=science.nasa.gov |language=en}}</ref> were launched in 1977 to take advantage of a rare alignment of [[Jupiter]], [[Saturn]], [[Uranus]] and [[Neptune]] that would allow a spacecraft to visit all four planets in one mission, and get to each destination faster by using [[gravity assist]]. In fact, the rocket that launched the probes (the [[Titan IIIE]]) could not even send the probes to the orbit of [[Saturn]], yet ''[[Voyager 1]]'' is travelling at roughly {{convert|17|km/s|sp=us|mi/s|abbr=unit}} and ''[[Voyager 2]]'' moves at about {{convert|15|km/s|sp=us|mi/s|abbr=unit}} kilometres per second as of 2023. In 2012, ''Voyager 1'' exited the heliosphere, followed by ''Voyager 2'' in 2018. ''Voyager 1'' actually launched 16 days after ''Voyager 2'' but it reached Jupiter sooner because ''Voyager 2'' was taking a longer route that allowed it to visit Uranus and Neptune, whereas ''Voyager 1'' did not visit Uranus or Neptune, instead choosing to fly past Saturn’s satellite [[Titan (moon)|Titan]]. As of August 2023, ''Voyager 1'' has passed 160 [[astronomical unit]]s, which means it is over 160 times farther from the [[Sun]] than Earth is. This makes it the farthest spacecraft from the Sun. ''Voyager 2'' is 134 AU away from the Sun as of August 2023. NASA provides real time data of their distances and data from the probe’s cosmic ray detectors.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mission Status |url=https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/}}</ref> Because of the probe’s declining power output and degradation of the [[Radioisotope thermoelectric generator|RTGs]] over time, [[NASA]] has had to shut down certain instruments to conserve power. The probes may still have some scientific instruments on until the mid-2020s or perhaps the 2030s. After 2036, they will both be out of range of the [[Deep Space Network]].