Voyager 1 Encounters a Data Transmission Issue

NASA engineers are currently addressing a newly discovered issue in one of the computers on the Voyager 1 deep space probe. This fault is hindering the 46-year-old spacecraft from sending any scientific or engineering data to Mission Control on Earth.

Launched in 1977 from the Kennedy Space Center, Voyager 1, alongside its twin, Voyager 2, holds the record as the longest-serving active, non-passive spacecraft ever launched.

Despite being 15 billion miles (24 billion km) away from Earth, Voyager 1 continues to gather scientific data as it travels on a one-way journey out of the solar system and into interstellar space.

Voyager 1’s Extended Service Life Brings Periodic Malfunctions and Engineering Hurdles

Regrettably, the spacecraft is displaying signs of aging, with its systems surpassing their original design specifications by decades. Periodic malfunctions occur, requiring NASA engineers, many of whom were not yet born when Voyager 1 was launched, to address and resolve the issues.

The latest issue involves the failure of Voyager to transmit the scientific data it collects back to Earth. Instead, it is sending a repetitive, nonsensical string of binary code, posing a challenge for the mission. Despite this glitch, other aspects of the spacecraft are operating normally, responding to and executing commands from Mission Control at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Voyager 1’s Data Transmission Halted by Onboard Computer Glitch

As per NASA, the issue lies in one of Voyager’s three onboard computers, specifically the Flight Data System (FDS), which seems to have a communication breakdown with Voyager’s Telemetry Modulation Unit (TMU). This communication failure is causing the data transmission to be, in NASA’s terminology, “stuck.”

Mission Control attempted to reboot the system, hoping for a self-reset, but this has proven unsuccessful. Exploring alternative approaches is underway, but the extended distance of Voyager 1 means that it takes 45 hours for the spacecraft to respond to a command from Earth, making the resolution process time-consuming.

Read the original article on: New atlas

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