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WG3K > ANS 03.11.24 17:34l 15 Lines 1848 Bytes #130 (0) @ AMSAT
BID : ANS308.7
Read: GUEST
Subj: Voyager 1 Resorts to Transmitter that Hasn't Been Used Since
Path: IZ3LSV<I0OJJ<GB7CIP<VK2RZ<KC9UHI<KA1VSC<WG3K
Sent: 241103/1632Z 9776@WG3K.#SMD.MD.USA.NOAM LinBPQ6.0.24
Following recent communication issues, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft resorted to using a backup radio transmitter that has been inactive since 1981.
The interstellar explorer experienced a brief pause in communications after putting itself in a protective state to conserve power. This was triggered by a command sent on Oct. 16 instructing the spacecraft to turn on one of its heaters.
The mission's flight team first realized there was an issue with Voyager 1 on Oct. 18, when the spacecraft failed to respond to that command. The team later discovered that the spacecraft had turned off its primary X-band radio transmitter and instead switched over to its secondary S-band radio transmitter, which uses less power, according to a statement from NASA. The transmitter shut-off seems to have been prompted by the spacecraft's fault protection system, which autonomously responds to onboard issues.
The spacecraft's fault protection system switched to the S-band radio transmitter, which, prior to that date, hadn't been used since 1981. Given the spacecraft is located much farther away in interstellar space today than it was 43 years ago, the flight team was not sure a signal on the S-band frequency could be detected â€ö especially because it transmits a significantly fainter signal while using less power.
A command was sent to the S-band transmitter on Oct. 22. Two days later, on Oct. 24, the team was finally able to reconnect with Voyager 1.
Voyager 1, which launched in 1977. Its time in deep space has taken a toll on its instruments and caused an increasing number of technical issues. Earlier this year, the team had to fix a separate communications glitch that was causing the spacecraft to transmit gibberish. Read the complete story at https://tinyurl.com/ANS-308-Voyager.
[ANS thanks Space.com for the above information.]
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