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!"
I still have my 11-c I bought in 1985. Works like a charm!
About 55 days for communication each direction.
I came up with 55 days - I’ll need to check my math.
OK re-did the math and came up with about 22 hours each way.
Sorry - bad calculation. 2nd try = about 22 hours.
There is a movie “Voyager”?
Ctl-alt-del
I don’t know for sure, but I would think voyager is looking kind of beat up by now. Amazing how long it has lasted and the distance traveled.
I’ve seen them all except #7 & #9.
Voyager 1 was sending back weird, garbled telemetry data…
Maybe ET was trying to use it to call us.
Yeah, 16 to 22 hours seems right.
“ Is this all there is?”
lol
“You infest Enterprise!”
V-ger...
That’s a Star Wars reference, right?🤣
It was that darn record they have onboard.
It had a scratch and was skipping the whole time!
The Golden Record
https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record
What is that from?.................🤔
Voyager is outside the heliosphere in interstellar space, so solar storms should not affect it.
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