Titan IIIe "Voyager" 1/96 #4

Not so much the Titan itself, more its payload in this case. The Centaur actually is a part of the payload, too, strictly speaking but the real payload of course was the Voyager deep space probe. This stack was launched on two occasions, first up was Voyager 2 on the 20th of August 1977 and a couple of days later, the 5th of September, Voyager 1 followed. Although launched later, due to its different trajectory, Voyager 1 reached Jupiter long before its twin did.

Both were pushed into the right direction by the Centaur but they were given a last little kick by the thing I built today. The Voyagers were placed on top of a little solid rocket called a Star 26 "kick motor", which accelerated  the probes just a little more. Enough to reach all their destinations and continue to this day, although contact is hardly an option any more, with them being so far away.

Kick it.

The kick motor was very easy to make, it's a design by John Jogerst but I -as usual- tweaked it a little. All the stringers were added and the paper reaction control thrusters were replaced with metal ones. Together with some paint and beads for the fuel tank it now is ready to be mounted on the Centaur. But... I still have to figure out where and how the motor was placed. Suggestions are welcome! There are a couple more pictures after the break.

Voyager will be placed on a frame on top of the skirt around the tank.

Business end.