Engineers NASA announced that it was able to reactivate the Voyageer probe fans successfully – The spacecraft Farther – At the specified moment, before a Idilation in the expected communications.
A It will be the reason for the interruption For improvements on a ground antenna that sends orders to Voyageer 1 and their twins, Voyageer 2. If this happens where the probe faces decisive failure in defenses, the historical task may be lost.
The new solution applied to original rotational drivers – inactive since 2004 – can help maintain operation so that you can communicate again with Terra Next year.
It was launched in September 1977, Voyageer 1 uses more than a group of fans to work properly. This main is carefully directed by the spacecraft so that their antenna still indicates Earth. This guarantees the transmission of data collected to 25 billion kilometers, in the space between the stars, in addition to receiving orders from the mission team.
Inside the main group, there are rotating engines, which allow Voyageer 1 to maintain alignment with a guidance star and thus maintain their direction in space. Without control, the task can be threatened.
Over time, the fans shots leave the payment residue. So far, engineers have alternated between the original devices and backup devices, as well as a third group used in maneuvers during the planetary excess in the 1980s. However, the latter does not contribute to the rotation of the spacecraft.
The original rotational defender stopped working for more than 20 years after two interior heaters failed. Since then, the probe has relied on reserve aircraft to stay throughout the star.
“The team found that it is acceptable to stop the main rotating defender, as the reserve worked well,” said Karim Badar El Din, director of the mission at NASA’s jeta laboratory (JPL) in Pasadina, California. “Frankly, no one thinks that the two writers will work after another 20 years.”
Engineers are now afraid that the accumulation of waste can make even the reserve defenses stop working in this fall (in the northern hemisphere). Therefore, they needed to be creative – and risks – to try to revitalize the previous main devices.
Fix broken equipment in space
When the main drivers’ heaters failed in 2004, it was believed that there was no repair. But in the face of imminent risks, the team decided to reconsider the problem.
Engineers suspect that failure in heaters feeding circles can change the key. If this key can be reversed for its original location, heaters may be able to work again – with the main rotating fans.
But the solution was not simple. Voyageer 1 operates outside the Hellenver, which is the magnetic field bubble and sunscreen that extend beyond Pluto orbit.
The team had to risk activating the main defenses and disinfecting them even before repairing the heaters, because they would only work with planes under operation. If the spacecraft is converted from the star of the guide, its system will automatically lead the engines. If the heaters are not connected now, this may cause a small explosion.
Speed test
In addition to the risks, the team faced a narrow deadline. The giant antenna of the Earth in Canberra, Australia, was canceled on May 4 for the renovations that will be followed until February 2026. This antenna is the only one who is difficult to send orders to Voyageer investigations.
“These improvements are important for the missile missions in the future and also increase the ability to communicate with our scientific tasks in deep space, many of which are based on Voyageer’s discoveries,” said Susan Dodd, director of the Voyager project and director of the JPL interplanetary Network.
The antenna will be briefly activated in August and December, so the team decided to test the drivers now, before losing the connection to the investigation. Thus, if they need to run them in August, they will already know whether it is an applicable option.
On March 20, engineers eagerly waited for the return of Voyageer 1 data after sending the matter the day before to activate fans and heaters. The investigation response takes more than 23 hours to reach the distance.
If the test fails, the task will be in danger. But the data came, which indicates a significant increase in the temperature of the heaters-a sign that the attempt was successful.
“It was a great moment. The team’s morale was very high that day,” said Todd Barber, who is in charge of the mission’s payment systems. “These defenses were considered dead. This conclusion was legitimate. But one of our engineers had a vision that there could be another possible reason – and it could be corrected. It was another miracle in the history of Voyageer.”
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