SPACE — NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is now unable to transmit any scientific data or systems to Earth. The spacecraft, which has been flying for 46 years, is still able to receive commands from Earth, but may have a problem with its computer.
In a post on Tuesday, December 12 2023, NASA said that Voyager 1’s flight data system (FDS), which collects engineering information and data from its scientific instruments, is no longer functioning as expected. Usually, the FDS and the telecommunications unit (TMU) on the plane which is 24 billion kilometers from the earth are connected to each other.
If functioning properly, the FDS will store spacecraft information into data packets, which are then sent back to Earth using the TMU. “Recently, these data packets have been jammed. Transmitting a repeating pattern of ones and zeros,” NASA wrote.
Voyager’s engineering team is tracing the issue back to FDS. But it will take several weeks before a solution is found.
Also read: Voyager, a spacecraft still flying since 1977, where is it now?
Voyager 1 and its sister spacecraft, Voyager 2, were launched in 1977 and have been in service longer than any other spacecraft. Both are in interstellar space, hurtling into the cosmos more than 15 billion miles or 24 billion kilometers from Earth
The distance was so far that it took 22.5 hours for the transmission to reach the spacecraft. Likewise, the response from the plane took almost another day. In total, round-trip communication with Voyager 1 took 45 hours.
Because of this, every time NASA engineers were able to submit a fix for Voyager’s FDS, they had to wait until the next day to find out if it worked. And the solution isn’t as simple as turning the system off and on again. They have tried, but to no avail.
Also Read: Today’s History: Voyager 1 Departs for the Interstellar System
The age and hardware of a spacecraft presents a unique set of challenges. NASA engineers had to do it within the framework and technology of the 1970s. Sometimes, they have to force some creative software to get it done. Source: Space.com
2023-12-12 22:05:00
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