About 46 years after NASA’s Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft began their journey to explore the vastness of space, the long-standing software on the probes continues to be updated remotely.
Engineers are updating and repairing the software to manage faulty data that Voyager 1 started transmitting last year. A series of updates also aims to prevent debris accumulation in both propulsion engines on the spacecraft. These updates will help the spacecraft maintain communication with Earth for as long as possible, Space reported on October 23.
Voyager 1 traveling through interstellar space. (Photo: NASA).
“The engineering team is facing many challenges for which we don’t have a manual,” said Linda Spilker, a scientist working on the Voyager project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “But they keep coming up with innovative solutions.”
In May 2022, the ground control center began receiving nonsensical data from the Attitude and Articulation Control System (AACS) on Voyager 1, which helps orient the probe’s antenna towards Earth. Tests revealed that the AACS hardware was still functioning perfectly; however, for unknown reasons, the AACS was transmitting its telemetry data through a non-functional computer onboard the spacecraft, leading to distorted data.
Nonetheless, fixing this issue does not explain why the AACS redirected the telemetry data. This mystery could reveal a larger problem with Voyager 1. However, engineers are confident that the repair efforts can address the root of the problem, at least after the update transmission is completed following a journey of more than 20 hours to Voyager 1.
The pair of Voyager probes can independently adjust their antennas by firing their propulsion engines. However, each time the engine is fired, it leaves a residue in the fuel intake pipe. Over decades of operation, this residue has accumulated, and engineers are concerned that the pipe could soon become completely blocked. Therefore, in September and October 2023, they began allowing the spacecraft to rotate more frequently to reduce the number of engine firings. If successful, this adjustment will help the spacecraft operate for at least another five years.
