In NASA reported about receiving “anomalous” telemetry from the probe Voyager 1 (“Voyager-1”), which has retired from the Earth by 23.3 billion km and is located in interstellar space. At the same time, data from the station is normally transmitted and received, although the orientation system of the platform and the probe antenna indicate something completely different. It looks like this system is out of order or failing, and the probe maintains orientation solely due to the movement of inertia.
Voyager 1 as seen by an artist. Image Source: NASA
Otherwise, the systems of the probe work normally, which is simply amazing for a spacecraft that has been moving in space for 45 years and has long since entered the more aggressive radiation space of the interstellar medium. NASA did not specify when and how long Voyager 1 sends incorrect telemetry to Earth. The Voyager 1 team is trying to fix the problem. The device can change the firmware and confidently responds to commands, but the delay in evaluating the reaction for 41 hours (the signal takes 20 hours 33 minutes in one direction) greatly complicates the process of controlling the probe.
The speed of data exchange with Voyager 1 reaches 160 bps. Judging by the preserved data rate, the probe’s antenna is accurately directed to the Earth, although the telemetry of the onboard attitude articulation and control system (AACS) directly contradicts this.
“If there is a way to solve this problem with AACS, our team will find it.” Suzanne Dodd, Project Manager for Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said in a statement. The Voyager 2 probe is in perfect order and continues to send to Earth scientific evidence.
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