Page 6 - Suzanne Dodd News Today

Is it possible to fix a spacecraft billions of miles from home?

Around a half-dozen full-timers and a few part-timers are keeping Voyager alive.

Nasa’s Voyager 1 is to receive a software update from over 19 billion kilometres away in a bid to keep the spacecraft operational.

NASA’s Voyager team has rolled out important measures in an attempt to further prolong the interstellar journey of the two Voyager spacecraft, which have been transmitting data from deep space since 1977.

It took over 18 hours to transmit the software patch to the spacecraft.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Oct 21, 2023 - NASAs intrepid Voyager twins, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2, launched in 1977, continue their unprecedented explorations of interstellar space. But as they reach farther distances from Earth-more than 15

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 were launched by NASA from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1977 to study Jupiter, Saturn and faraway moons. Both spacecraft have long since completed their original missions and are leaving the solar system.

One NASA official said the DSN was "oversubscribed" during NASA's Artemis I mission and that it was unwise to launch so many CubeSats alongside Orion.

The Deep Space Network antennas are already operating at capacity, with an anticipated growth in demand with the upcoming Artemis missions.

"I'm not sure who thought it was a good idea to put up CubeSats with Artemis I."