NASA reconnects with interstellar Voyager 1 spacecraft using technology not used since 1981

After a quick pause in communications with Voyager 1, NASA re-established a connection with the interstellar spacecraft situated greater than 15 billion miles away from Earth, using a frequency not used greater than forty years.

Communication between NASA and Voyager 1 has been spotty at instances. In reality, the spacecraft stopped sending readable information to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California on Nov. 14, 2023, and it was not till April that mission controllers started receiving instructions as soon as once more.

More just lately, the spacecraft turned off one in every of its two transmitters after what engineers suspected was as a consequence of Voyager 1’s fault safety system, which autonomously responds to onboard points.

For occasion, if the spacecraft makes use of an excessive amount of energy from its provide supply, fault safety will kick in to preserve energy by turning off non-essential techniques, NASA defined.

VOYAGER 1 DETECTS ‘HUM’ WHILE IN INTERSTELLAR SPACE: REPORT

This illustration offered by NASA depicts  The most distant spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1, is seen on this NASA illustration. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California introduced this week that Voyager 1s 4 scientific devices are again in enterprise after a technical downside in November. (NASA by way of AP, File)

The house company stated the flight crew despatched a command to activate one of many spacecraft’s heaters on Oct. 16. The command takes almost 23 hours to journey from Earth to the spacecraft, after which one other 23 hours for the information to journey again.

Engineers suspected Voyager 1 ought to have had loads of energy to function the heather, although the fault safety system was triggered.

On Oct. 18, the crew realized in regards to the problem, as a result of the Deep Space Network was unable to detect Voyager 1’s sign. Communication between NASA and the spacecraft happens on the X-band radio transmitter, named for the frequency it makes use of.

NASA PUBLISHES NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOS OF ‘RAVIOLI’ MOON ORBITING SATURN

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is depicted on this artist’s idea touring by means of interstellar house, or the house between stars, which it entered in 2012.  (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The fault safety system lowered the speed the transmitter was capable of ship information again to NASA, engineers decided, due to this fact altering the X-band sign the Deep Space Network wanted to hear for.

Once the sign was situated, Voyager 1 gave the impression to be in a secure state and the crew started investigating what occurred.

But on Oct. 19, communication between the crew and Voyager 1 stopped once more, this time solely.

The crew believed Voyager 1’s fault safety system was triggered two extra instances and switched to a second radio transmitter known as the S-band, which makes use of much less energy.

NASA RE-ESTABLISHES COMMUNICATION WITH VOYAGER 1 INTERSTELLAR SPACECRAFT THAT WENT SILENT FOR MONTHS

(*1*)

The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The JPL stated it should let go of 530 employees this week.  (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Voyager 1 had not used the S-band to speak with Earth since 1981.

Engineers with the Deep Space Network have been in the end capable of detect the spacecraft’s communication from the S-band. Rather than danger turning the X-band again on earlier than discovering out what brought about the fault safety system to set off, the crew despatched a command on Oct. 22 to verify the S-band transmitter was working.

Now, the crew is working to collect data to assist them discover out what occurred so it could actually return Voyager 1 again to regular operations.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Voyager 1′s odyssey started in 1977 when the spacecraft and its twin, Voyager 2, have been launched on a tour of the gasoline big planets of the photo voltaic system.

After beaming again dazzling postcard views of Jupiter’s big purple spot and Saturn’s shimmering rings, Voyager 2 hopscotched to Uranus and Neptune. Meanwhile, Voyager 1 used Saturn as a gravitational slingshot to energy itself previous Pluto.