How Long Does it Take to Get to Saturn?
Written by Fraser Cain
When traveling to Saturn, there are many things that you have to consider. Where are the two planets in their orbit? How fast is the spacecraft going? And what orbital maneuvers do you need to make to arrive at the planet.
NASA's Pioneer 11 spacecraft was the first human spacecraft to visit Saturn. It launched on April 5, 1973 and arrived at Saturn on September 1, 1979, for a total flight time of almost 6 years and 5 months.
Voyager 1 was the second spacecraft to visit Saturn. It launched on September 5, 1977, and arrived at Saturn on November 12, 1980 – a flight time of 3 years and 2 months.
Voyager 2 was the third spacecraft. It launched on August 20, 1977, and arrived at Saturn on August 26, 1981. It had a flight time of just over 4 years.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft launched on October 15, 1997, and arrived on July 1, 2004 for a total flight time of around 6 years and 9 months. It took this long because it had to make several flybys of other planets to gain additional velocity.
The fastest spacecraft ever launched into the Solar System is NASA's New Horizons spacecraft. It launched on January 19, 2006 and passed the orbit of Saturn on June 8, 2008. It completed this journey in just 2 years and 4 months.
Just in case you were wondering, here's how long it takes to fly to Mars, and how long it takes to get to the Moon.
Here's the same question answered at NASA's Starchild, and information about how long each of NASA's spacecraft took to make the journey.
We have recorded two episodes of Astronomy Cast just about Saturn. The first is Episode 59: Saturn, and the second is Episode 61: Saturn's Moons.
Filed under: Astronomy
