How NASA fixed 47-year-old Voyager 1, flying 15 bn miles away from Earth & stopped it from sending garbled data

NASA’s Voyager 1, which started behaving oddly on November 2023 and was sending gibberish, garbled data, is now fully operational again, bringing relief to scientists and space enthusiasts. After nearly eight months, all four of its science instruments are once again sending usable data back to Earth.

Voyager 1, launched on September 5, 1977, had begun transmitting garbled data instead of its usual binary code last November. Given the spacecraft’s age — 47 years — and its location in uncharted interstellar space, 15 billion miles (or about 24 billion kilometres) from Earth, it was no surprise that it might encounter technical issues.

Despite the challenges, the Voyager 1 team remained steadfast in diagnosing and resolving the problem.

They identified the malfunction within the flight data subsystem (FDS), responsible for packaging data for transmission to Earth. A detailed investigation pinpointed the faulty chip, enabling the team to devise a workaround.

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By rerouting the code to a new location in the FDS, Voyager 1 successfully sent back clear data on April 20, 2024. Initially, only two of the four science instruments were operational, but now all instruments are functioning and communicating effectively with mission control.

Experts had noted that even if Voyager 1 had remained silent, it would still be considered a successful mission.

Originally launched to study Jupiter and Saturn, the spacecraft completed this primary objective by 1980. Since then, Voyager 1 has continued its journey, reaching interstellar space in 2012 and providing invaluable data about this remote region.

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With the spacecraft back online, the Voyager 1 team plans to continue its revival efforts.

This includes resynchronizing its timekeeping software and mechanism and routinely performing maintenance on the digital tape recorder that measures plasma waves.

Voyager 1’s resilience and the team’s determination highlight the mission’s enduring legacy. As it continues to drift further from Earth, Voyager 1 remains a testament to human ingenuity and the quest for knowledge in the vast expanse of space.