Which Voyager spacecraft flew by Saturn first?

Which Voyager spacecraft flew by Saturn first? The answer is Voyager 1, which reached Saturn in November 1980, ahead of Voyager 2’s August 1981 encounter.

Voyager 1 launched on September 5, 1977, while Voyager 2 launched earlier, on August 20. Voyager 1 nevertheless took a shorter, faster route to Jupiter and Saturn. It flew past Jupiter on March 5, 1979, then used the giant planet’s gravity to reshape its trajectory toward Saturn.

Voyager 1 made its closest approach to Saturn on November 12, 1980. Its observations produced detailed images of Saturn’s rings, atmosphere, and moons, including the hazy atmosphere of Titan. The mission’s trajectory was deliberately designed around a close Titan flyby, which sent Voyager 1 out of the plane of the planets.

Voyager 2 reached Saturn on August 25–26, 1981, and continued onward to Uranus and Neptune. A frequent confusion is Pioneer 11: it was the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn overall, in 1979, but Voyager 1 was first among the two Voyager spacecraft.