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Voyager launched on a couple of Grand Tour alignments [1]. One was Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. The other was Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. And yes, that occurs ev
by jmyeet 5y ago
Voyager launched on a couple of Grand Tour alignments [1]. One was Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. The other was Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. And yes, that occurs every ~200 years.
But that's not really relevant for reaching Uranus. That requires a more common alignment, which is with Jupiter. Jupiter orbits every ~12 years. Uranus orbits every 84 years. Jupiter is the vast bulk of mass in the Solar System that isn't the Sun, which is why it's such a good slingshot. So there's a window every ~12 years.
If we miss the early 2030s window, we'll be waiting to at least the mid 2040s.
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour_program https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Tour_program