NASA's Voyager 1 space probe resumed sending engineering updates to Earth after a five-month hiatus due to an issue with its flight data subsystem (FDS)
The team identified a failed chip within the FDS as the cause and divided affected code into sections, adjusting each section for correct functionality
They singled out the code responsible for packaging Voyager 1's engineering data and sent it to a new location in FDS memory on April 18
Voyager 1, launched over four decades ago, is currently traveling through interstellar space and has become the longest-operating spacecraft in history
NASA's Voyager 1 space probe, the most distant human-made object in space, resumed sending engineering updates to Earth on April 20 after a five-month hiatus. The team at NASA and CalTech identified a failed chip within the flight data subsystem (FDS) as the cause of the communication issue.
To fix the problem, they divided affected code into sections and stored them in different locations in FDS memory. They adjusted each code section to ensure it functioned correctly as part of a whole and updated any references to its location within FDS memory.
The team then singled out the code responsible for packaging Voyager 1's engineering data and sent it to its new location in FDS memory on April 18. A radio signal takes about 22 hours to reach Voyager 1 and another 22 hours for a signal to come back to Earth.
Voyager 1, launched over four decades ago, has become the longest-operating spacecraft in history. It is currently traveling through interstellar space and continues to defy expectations for its lifespan.
Voyager 1 updated ground control about its health status for the first time in 5 months on April 20, 2024
NASA sent a digital ‘poke’ to Voyager 1 in March 2024, prompting it to send a full memory readout back home
The corrupted code was sliced into sections and stored separately in the FDS memory starting on April 18, 2024
NASA confirmed the modification had worked by April 20, 2024
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
No ad hominem fallacies, no false dilemmas or dichotomous depictions, no appeals to authority, and no inflammatory rhetoric. However, there are a few examples of overgeneralization. The author states that “Voyager 2... is still operational and communicating well with Earth” implying all spacecraft should function the same way or that Voyager 2 is an example of how all space missions should be. Additionally, the author claims “The two spacecraft remain the only human-made objects exploring space beyond the influence of the sun.” This statement could be interpreted as implying that all other space missions are unimportant or less valuable compared to Voyager 1 and 2.
Voyager 2... is still operational and communicating well with Earth.
The two spacecraft remain the only human-made objects exploring space beyond the influence of the sun.
NASA decided to place the affected code elsewhere in the FDS memory for a complex fix.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
Of
Publication
Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
Publication
Fallacies
(95%)
No formal fallacies found. However, there is an example of inflammatory rhetoric and a slight exaggeration.
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft—currently cruising in interstellar space—got in touch on April 20 with usable data on its health and status. That’s a triumph after a glitch in November caused the spacecraft to send back nothing but gibberish.
The Voyager 1 team had to play a long-distance game of detective with the elderly probe.
