NASA’s Iconic Spacecraft Voyager 1 Stops Communicating After 46 Years
Voyager 1 Encounters Communication Problems with Earth
Utilizing Data from the 1970s
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has encountered a communication problem with Earth. While it can still receive commands, there appears to be a glitch in its data-transmitting computer, impeding data transmission back to our planet.
NASA
According to a blog post by NASA on the 12th (local time), the Flight Data System (FDS) on Voyager 1, which collects data, is no longer able to communicate correctly with the spacecraft’s Telemetry Modulation Unit (TMU).
If the FDS operates correctly, it processes the spacecraft’s current information and transmits it to Earth through the TMU. However, there seems to be a problem with this process.
The post reports that the information processing recently encountered a snag, sending out a repeating pattern of 0s and 1s. The Voyager research team may need several weeks to address the issue.
Voyager 1 is currently exploring deep space at a great distance from Earth, and it takes about 22.5 hours for the spacecraft to receive a command sent from Earth. Receiving a response also demands a similar amount of time, resulting in an approximate two-day information exchange period.
NASA engineers must tackle the problem by utilizing data from the 1970s when they constructed and launched the Voyager spacecraft. The research team also takes time to understand the impact of new commands on the spaceship to avoid unintended results.
Of course, this is not the first time Voyager 1 has experienced a malfunction in its 46 years of exploring deep space. In May 2022, there was a problem with the spacecraft’s Attitude and Articulation Control System (AACS), and it took several months to find a solution.
Meanwhile, both Voyager 1, launched in 1977, and its twin spacecraft, Voyager 2, are passing through interstellar space, exploring deep space more than 240 billion kilometers away from Earth.
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