NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is depicted in this artist’s concept traveling through interstellar space, or the space between stars, which it entered in 2012.
After some inventive sleuthing, the mission team can — for the first time in five months — check the health and status of the most distant human-made object in existence.
For the first time since November, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems. The next step is to enable the spacecraft to begin returning science data again. The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft to ever fly in interstellar space (the space between stars).
Voyager 1 stopped sending readable science and engineering data back to Earth on Nov. 14, 2023, even though mission controllers could tell the spacecraft was still receiving their commands and otherwise operating normally. In March, the Voyager engineering team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed that the issue was tied to one of the spacecraft’s three onboard computers, called the flight data subsystem (FDS). The FDS is responsible for packaging the science and engineering data before it’s sent to Earth.
After receiving data about the health and status of Voyager 1 for the first time in five months, members of the Voyager flight team celebrate in a conference room at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on April 20.
The team discovered that a single chip responsible for storing a portion of the FDS memory — including some of the FDS computer’s software code — isn’t working. The loss of that code rendered the science and engineering data unusable. Unable to repair the chip, the team decided to place the affected code elsewhere in the FDS memory. But no single location is large enough to hold the section of code in its entirety.
So they devised a plan to divide the affected code into sections and store those sections in different places in the FDS. To make this plan work, they also needed to adjust those code sections to ensure, for example, that they all still function as a whole. Any references to the location of that code in other parts of the FDS memory needed to be updated as well.
The team started by singling out the code responsible for packaging the spacecraft’s engineering data. They sent it to its new location in the FDS memory on April 18. A radio signal takes about 22 ½ hours to reach Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, and another 22 ½ hours for a signal to come back to Earth. When the mission flight team heard back from the spacecraft on April 20, they saw that the modification worked: For the first time in five months, they have been able to check the health and status of the spacecraft.
During the coming weeks, the team will relocate and adjust the other affected portions of the FDS software. These include the portions that will start returning science data.Voyager 2 continues to operate normally. Launched over 46 years ago, the twin Voyager spacecraft are the longest-running and most distant spacecraft in history. Before the start of their interstellar exploration, both probes flew by Saturn and Jupiter, and Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and Neptune.
News
Breaking: Warner Music Group Terminates $100 Million Deal with Garth Brooks, “He Produces Crap Music”
In a move that sent shockwaves through the music industry, Warner Music Group announced the termination of its $100 million partnership with country music superstar Garth Brooks. The decision, marked by the candid statement “He gets booed a lot,” has…
“Take Your Wokeness Somewhere Else”: Roseanne Barr Throws Tom Hanks Out Of Her New Show
In a recent, groundbreaking development that has reverberated across the entertainment industry, esteemed comedian and actress Roseanne Barr has made a bold and unexpected move by dismissing the acclaimed actor Tom Hanks from her latest television project. This decision was…
Chiefs’ Coach Andy Reid Draws Line, Fires 3 Top Players For Anthem Kneeling: “Stand for the Game, Not Against the Anthem”
In a move that reverberated through the sports world and beyond, Kansas City Chiefs’ Head Coach Andy Reid made headlines last week when he dismissed three of his top players from the team for kneeling during the national anthem. This…
Breaking: Elon Musk Urges Boycott of Tyson Foods, Says “I’ll Never Purchase from Tyson Foods Again!”
In a bold move that has sent shockwaves through the food industry, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called for a boycott of Tyson Foods, declaring that he will never purchase products from the company again. Musk’s outspoken stance comes amidst…
Breaking: Girls’ Swim Team Declines To Compete Against Biological Male, Says “It’s Not Right”
In a sporting world fraught with debates surrounding fairness, inclusion, and competition integrity, a recent decision by a girls’ swimming team to refuse to compete against a biological male has reignited discussions about the complexities of gender identity in sports….
Breaking: Candace Owens Throws Joy Behar Out Of “The View’ Set On Her First Day
In a surprising turn of events that sent shockwaves through the talk show landscape, conservative commentator Candace Owens made a bold statement on her first day as a co-host on “The View.” The fiery clash occurred as Owens, known for…
End of content
No more pages to load