[tduberne]

That's funny, I had exactly the opposite reaction. Almost 20 light hours sounds far for something we basically strapped on the top of a big firecracker, which probably provided propulsion for at most a few dozen minutes... The fact that it was even possible to make that thing fly over several planets before exiting the orbital plane on a predictable course, and that one can still communicate with it as it exits the heliosphere is truly awe inspiring to me.

[ansible]

The gravitational assists (especially from Jupiter) helped a lot with the delta-V.