Voyager 2's close encounter with Uranus wasn't in the original plan

It is 40 years since Voyager 2 performed the first and, so far, only flyby of the planet Uranus. The resulting trove of data, however, was a bonus that almost didn't happen.

At the time of Voyager 2's launch, Uranus wasn't part of the formal plan. The mission was referred to for a long time as the Mariner Jupiter-Saturn project. The JPL engineers famously had other ideas and ensured the spacecraft had enough fuel to continue on a trajectory to Uranus and beyond if the mission was approved.

As it was, Voyager 1 performing a successful flyby of Saturn's moon Titan meant that Voyager 2 could continue on the Grand Tour, taking in Uranus and Neptune.

Former Voyager scientist Garry Hunt told The Register: "It was a fantastic encounter because it almost didn't happen. After Saturn, we had the scan platform problem. If that problem ...