Voyager 1's Specter Haunts NASA, Causing Reactivation of Idle Backup Radio from 1981
It seems like Voyager 1 just can't catch a break. The interstellar voyager, fresh from overcoming a thruster issue that threatened its mission, is now facing another challenge. NASA admitted that the spacecraft encountered a brief interruption in communication after turning off one of its radio transmitters.
On a Monday, NASA unveiled that Voyager 1 encountered a brief halt in communication following the deactivation of one of its radio transmitters. The space agency is now depending on a secondary radio transmitter, last utilized in 1981, to keep in touch with Voyager 1 until they decipher the underlying reason behind the glitch.
The mission's team first detected an anomaly in Voyager 1's communication when the spacecraft failed to comply with a command. On October 16, the team utilized NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN), a global network of enormous radio antennas, to send commands to Voyager 1, commanding it to activate one of its heaters.
Voyager 1 was expected to return engineering data to the team, enabling them to assess how the spacecraft reacted to the command. This process usually takes a couple of days, as the command takes approximately 23 hours to traverse more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) to reach the spacecraft and another 23 hours for the team to receive a response. Instead, the command seemed to have triggered Voyager 1's fault protection system, which autonomously responds to onboard issues affecting the mission.
Voyager 1's fault protection system reduced the rate at which its radio transmitter sent back data to conserve power, as per NASA. While saving power, this mode also altered the X-band radio signal, a section of the electromagnetic spectrum that the DSN's antennas listen for.
The flight team managed to locate the signal a day later but then, on October 19, all communication with Voyager 1 ceased. Voyager 1's fault protection system appeared to have been triggered twice more, and it deactivated the X-band transmitter altogether. The spacecraft switched to a secondary radio transmitter called the S-band, which consumes less energy but transmits a much fainter signal. Voyager 1's S-band transmitter hadn't been in use since 1981, and the flight team was unsure whether its signal could be detected given Voyager 1's greater distance today compared to four decades ago.
However, the team of engineers didn't want to risk sending another signal to the X-band transmitter and opted to test the S-band transmitter instead. On October 22, the team sent a command to confirm the S-band transmitter's functionality and managed to re-establish contact with Voyager 1 two days later. At present, NASA engineers are investigating what may have triggered Voyager 1's fault protection system in an attempt to resolve the issue.
Voyager 1 embarked on its journey in 1977, just a month following its twin probe, Voyager 2. The spacecraft took a faster route, exiting the asteroid belt earlier than its twin and making close encounters with Jupiter and Saturn. During its voyage, it discovered two Jovian moons, Thebe and Metis, as well as five new moons and a new ring called the G-ring around Saturn. Voyager 1 entered interstellar space in August 2012, becoming the first spacecraft to cross the boundary of our solar system.
The spacecraft has been operational for 47 years, and the rigors of deep space have taken their toll. NASA engineers have had to devise innovative methods to sustain the iconic mission. Most recently, the team switched to a different set of thrusters, which had become clogged with silicon dioxide over the years, using a meticulous procedure to preserve Voyager 1's energy supply. Earlier this year, the team of engineers also resolved a communication glitch that had been causing Voyager 1 to transmit nonsensical data to ground control.
Voyager 1 is no longer in its prime years, and maintaining it has been a significant challenge, particularly from such vast distances. However, overall, humanity's long-term interstellar probe has proven to be worthwhile.
The brief halt in communication prompted NASA to rely on Voyager 1's secondary radio transmitter, last used in 1981, for communication. With advancements in space technology and science, the future of Voyager 1's mission relies heavily on the team's ability to resolve this issue.
