2026-09-05 15:32:42 UTC
JD 2461289.15
STATION 03 · ASTROMETRICS DOSSIER NOMINAL

Voyager 2

NASA / JPL Target: Interstellar Space (Southern Sky) In flight: 49y 0m (Launched Aug 20, 1977)
REAL-TIME ASTROMETRICS CONSOLE
FRAME: HELIOCENTRIC / J2000
Heliocentric Distance 137.4603 AU 20,563,773,781 km
Round-Trip Light Time (RTLT) 1d 14h 06m 27s One-Way Delay: 19h 03m 13s
Spacecraft Velocity 15.33 km/s 55,188 km/h heliocentric
Trajectory Profile Hyperbolic interstellar escape trajectory (Declination -62°) Phase: Interstellar Mission

01 Mission Architecture & Scientific Objectives

Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have conducted in-situ exploration of all four giant outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. On November 5, 2018, it crossed the heliopause into interstellar space, carrying a still-functioning Plasma Science instrument that directly samples interstellar wind density and temperature.

02 Scientific Instrument Payload

Sensor Subsystem Scientific Measurement Function State
CRS Cosmic Ray Subsystem
High-energy cosmic ray isotope and proton detector.
Active
LECP Low-Energy Charged Particle
Trapped and free ion flux measurements.
Active
MAG Dual Magnetometers
Deep space interstellar magnetic field orientations.
Active
PLS Plasma Science Experiment
Measures interstellar ion temperature, density, and velocity vector.
Active
PWS Plasma Wave Subsystem
Low-frequency electric wave fields in local interstellar gas.
Active

03 Historical Astrometric Chronology

1977
Launch from Cape Canaveral.
1979
Jupiter flyby; discovered Great Red Spot complex vorticity.
1981
Saturn flyby; sampled spoke structures in the B-ring.
1986
Historic first and only flyby of Uranus; discovered 10 new moons.
1989
Neptune & Triton flyby; detected cryovolcanic geysers on Triton.
2018
Crossed the heliopause into interstellar space at 119.7 AU.
2026+
Transmitting interstellar plasma metrics from deep southern celestial coordinates.