Posted on 08/30/2022 12:57:28 PM PDT by Red Badger
Illustration of a 1970s Voyage spacecraft with a cone-like white section and antenna pointed up. NASA illustration shows a Voyager spacecraft. NASA
Interstellar. It's not just the name of a blockbuster sci-fi movie, it's the reality of the Voyager 1 spacecraft, a 45-year-old explorer that's investigating the cosmos outside our solar system and weathering some of the problems that come from age and distance. On Tuesday, NASA JPL announced the Voyager team had tracked down the source of a pesky data glitch.
NASA shared the glitch issue in May, calling it a mystery. Voyager 1 was sending back weird, garbled telemetry data from its attitude articulation and control system (AACS), which is responsible for positioning the spacecraft and making sure its antenna is pointed in the right direction to communicate with Earth. However, the probe seemed to be operating normally.
It's tough to diagnose and fix a problem when Voyager 1 is so far away, but the team figured it out: "The AACS had started sending the telemetry data through an onboard computer known to have stopped working years ago, and the computer corrupted the information," NASA JPL said in a statement. The fix involved telling the AACS to switch back to the correct computer for sending data.
While the solution sounds simple, the glitch hints at the possibility of a deeper problem. Engineers don't know why the glitch cropped up in the first place, but another computer sending a faulty command could be the culprit. Voyager project manager Suzanne Dodd said the team is cautiously optimistic, but will continue to investigate the issue.
Voyager and its twin Voyager 2 launched in 1977 and are both outside our solar system. The NASA Voyager Twitter account, which is run in the voice of the spacecraft, tweeted, "The team has declared me healthy, which is great, because I still have more interstellar exploring to do!"
V-ger sends its greetings..........................๐
I can see the cellular tower light blinking from a distant hilltop and yet can't get a phone signal.
Of course there’s a lot of space out in space, but it amazes me that these probes have been able to travel so long and far without thus far being knocked silly by some errant chuck of space rock.
Glitch , reminds me of the The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 2015 movie ,LOL
Webb gets dinged right after it deploys and Voyager keeps maintaining its low profile. An incredible accomplishment.
Cheatsheet.com:
Somebody open hailing frequencies with Laz...
Can’t remember why it went out there in the first place?
Oh they say that NOW.
Wait til it come back with a chip on its shoulderโฆ
Hey, if there’s a problem, just send a repairman.
nasa is hoping it crashes into an alien satellite so that they can get their repairs done...
V-ger indeed
When that thing was engineered, a lot of us were still using slide rules. An HP handheld calculator was still like magic.
Star Trek the movie may have been prophetic.
Ping.
Just wait until it meets a bald-headed woman....
Bald-headed woman to me.... /Bee Gees
See if you can steer it away from the alien probe that met Nomad.
It had a rather nasty disposition towards imperfections and error.
Must sterilize.......
Considerable difference in size. The JWST has those 18 hexagon mirror elements at a diameter of 6.5 meters where the Voyager's largest component, its primary radio dish is a mere 3.7 meters. Barn door versus a swallow.
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