NASA engineers have successfully revived the long-dead thrusters of Voyager 1, a spacecraft launched in 1977 that is now over 15 billion miles from Earth. The feat, which took place more than 20 years after the thrusters fell silent, has bought the craft precious time and ensured its continued operation until contact with Earth can be reestablished next year.
The backup thrusters, which have been used since 2004, were clogging up with propellant residue due to a lack of heat from faulty heater circuits. However, NASA engineers realized that if the heaters were turned on, it could trigger an automatic sequence to make the thrusters fire, potentially causing the craft to explode.
To fix this issue, the team decided to try a different approach: flipping a switch remotely on the spacecraft. This simple action required immense technical expertise and precision, as the faulty heaters could only be fixed if the thrusters were turned off first.
On March 20, NASA engineers fired out a signal to test the primary thrusters, waiting a tense 46 hours for a response from Voyager. The data that followed confirmed that the fix had worked, with the thruster heaters warming up dramatically.
“This was yet another miracle save for Voyager,” said Todd Barber, mission’s propulsion lead at JPL. “We were on the brink of losing contact with our beloved spacecraft, but one of our engineers had an insight that saved the day.”
The successful revival of Voyager 1’s thrusters marks a significant milestone in the ongoing mission to explore the outer reaches of our solar system. The spacecraft continues to record data on the conditions outside the sun’s heliosphere, providing scientists with valuable insights into the universe.
Despite this achievement, Voyager 1’s instruments are slowly shutting down, and its power reserves are depleting, making its demise inevitable. However, with the thrusters now functioning again, the spacecraft can continue to operate for some time longer.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/space/yet-another-miracle-save-nasa-engineers-complete-nail-biting-maneuver-to-resurrect-voyager-1s-long-dead-thrusters