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Spacecraft escaping the Solar System

This page shows the current positions and other interesting data of the five spacecraft which are leaving the Solar System on escape trajectories - our first emissaries to the stars. The graphics and data table are generated dynamically and so always represent the latest positions. The New Horizons spacecraft on its way to Pluto has been added to the table, and now the charts too.

View of orbit from above ecliptic plane
View from 10 degrees above ecliptic plane

  Pioneer 10 Pioneer 11 Voyager 2 Voyager 1 New Horizons
Distance from Sun (AU) 100.334 80.460 91.603 112.832 16.139
Speed relative to Sun (km/s) 12.080 11.443 15.486 17.077 16.446
Speed relative to Sun (AU/year) 2.548 2.414 3.267 3.602 3.469
Ecliptic Latitude 3.0° 14.4° -33.0° 34.9° 1.7°
Declination (J2000) 25.83° -8.70° -54.48° 12.14° -21.48°
Right Ascension (J2000) 5.063 hrs 18.742 hrs 19.869 hrs 17.173 hrs 18.643 hrs
Constellation Tau Sct Tel Oph Sgr
Distance from Earth (AU) 100.375 80.806 92.003 112.759 16.435
One-way light time (hours) 13.91 11.20 12.75 15.63 2.28
Magnitude of Sun from spacecraft -16.7 -17.2 -16.9 -16.4 -20.7
Spacecraft still functioning ? No No Yes Yes Yes
Launch date Mar 3, 1972 Apr 6, 1973 Aug 20, 1977 Sep 5, 1977 Jan 19, 2006


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