Engineers have solved the data problem on NASA’s Voyager 1 – but there are still glitches

It turns out that the fault lies in the fact that a certain device that is still working tried to transfer the data through the spacecraft’s main computer which has been malfunctioning for many years. The engineers found a way around this

Artist’s rendering showing the Voyager spacecraft flying through space against the background of the stars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

An issue that affected data from the Voyager 1 spacecraft has been fixed by engineers. Earlier this year, the spacecraft’s AACS system, which keeps its antenna pointed at Earth, began sending garbled information about its status and activity to mission controllers, although otherwise it was operating normally. The rest of the spacecraft also appeared to be in good shape as it continued to collect and send back science data.

The team has since located the source of the disrupted data: AACS began sending the telemetry data through a computer on the spacecraft known to have malfunctioned many years ago, and the computer disrupted the data.

Susan Dodd, Voyager project manager, said that when they suspected this was the problem, they decided to try a simple, low-risk solution: tell AACS to start sending the data back to the correct computer.

Voyager’s highly acclaimed antenna, seen in the center of this image of the spacecraft, is one of the components controlled by the AACS system. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The engineers do not yet know why AACS started routing the telemetry data to the wrong computer. They think she must have received a wrong command generated by another computer on the spacecraft. If this is indeed the case, this could indicate that there is still a problem elsewhere in the spacecraft. The team will continue to look for the source of the problem, but do not think it poses a threat to the spacecraft’s long-term health.

“We are happy that the telemetry is back,” said David. “We’ll do a full memory read of AACS and check everything it does. That will help us try to diagnose the problem that caused the telemetry problem in the first place, so we’re cautiously optimistic, but we need to keep investigating.”

Voyager 1 and 2 have been exploring our solar system for 45 years. Both spacecraft are now in interstellar space, the region outside the heliopause, or bubble of energetic particles and magnetic fields from the Sun.

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