Voyager 1 Activated a Radio It Hadn’t Used in 40 Years #NASA #SPACE #Voyager1

Image: Artist rendering of Voyager 1 from NASA via Wikipedia

I’m astonished we are still collecting data from the 47 year old planetary probe. In 2012 Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space.

Last month there was a slight panic as NASA lost contact with the craft. What happened was a heating switch triggered a failsafe causing the radio frequency to switch from x-band to s-band signal. The s-band is lower power and has not been used since 1981. As of yesterday NASA is reporting things are back to normal.

From CNET:

At the time, the probe had reduced power to its X-Band radio, which caused it to transmit on a different frequency. NASA was able to regain contact by sweeping the X-Band frequencies for a short while only to lose contact again on Oct. 19. This time, NASA discovered that Voyager 1 had disabled the X-Band radio entirely and switched instead to the S-Band radio, a radio that Voyager 1 hadn’t used since 1981. NASA sent a test signal to confirm that the S-Band radio was, in fact, switched on and received a response on Oct. 24.

  • NASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Regular Operations After Communications Pause
  • After Pause, NASA’s Voyager 1 Communicating With Mission Team

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