NASA’s Voyager 1, a 47-year-old spacecraft now more than 15 billion miles from Earth, recently resumed contact after a brief communication halt. Using a radio transmitter last activated in 1981, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) reconnected with Voyager 1 on October 24.
The interruption began on October 16 when Voyager 1’s fault protection system, designed to manage power, shut down one of its transmitters. When engineers sent a command, no response was detected until October 18. Shortly afterward, all communication ceased. Following an investigation, NASA found the spacecraft had switched to a backup transmitter, one that hadn’t been used in over four decades.
Voyager 1 has two transmitters: the primary ‘X-band’ and the less frequently used ‘S-band,’ last active in 1981. With concerns about potential risks, NASA is holding off on reactivating the X-band transmitter until they fully understand the cause of the issue, which could take weeks.
Engineers cautiously tested the S-band transmitter on October 22 and received a successful response by October 24. However, they consider this a temporary solution as the team aims to restore Voyager 1’s main transmitter in the near future.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space and has made significant discoveries, including a ring around Jupiter and new moons at both Jupiter and Saturn. Its journey continues to provide valuable insights about the boundaries of our solar system.
