Engineers regain full control over Voyager 2
A longshot effort by engineers has succeeded in re-establishing full communications with Voyager 2, launched in 1977 and flying outward at the edge of the solar system.
“The Deep Space Network used the highest-power transmitter to send the command (the 100-kw S-band uplink from the Canberra site) and timed it to be sent during the best conditions during the antenna tracking pass in order to maximize possible receipt of the command by the spacecraft,” Voyager project manager Suzanne Dodd told AFP. This so-called “interstellar shout” required 18.5 hours traveling at light speed to reach Voyager, and it took 37 hours for mission controllers to learn whether the command worked, JPL said in a statement.
The probe began returning science and telemetry data at 12:29 am Eastern Time on August 4, “indicating it is operating normally and that it remains on its expected trajectory,” added JPL.
Based on a weak signal received earlier, engineers were confident that the spacecraft was functioning in good order despite the loss in communications, and would automatically re-orient itself properly when it did an automatic reset in October. This attempt however fixed things now.
Regardless, the spacecraft probably only has a few more more years of operations before its nuclear powered source finally runs out sometime after 2025.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
A longshot effort by engineers has succeeded in re-establishing full communications with Voyager 2, launched in 1977 and flying outward at the edge of the solar system.
“The Deep Space Network used the highest-power transmitter to send the command (the 100-kw S-band uplink from the Canberra site) and timed it to be sent during the best conditions during the antenna tracking pass in order to maximize possible receipt of the command by the spacecraft,” Voyager project manager Suzanne Dodd told AFP. This so-called “interstellar shout” required 18.5 hours traveling at light speed to reach Voyager, and it took 37 hours for mission controllers to learn whether the command worked, JPL said in a statement.
The probe began returning science and telemetry data at 12:29 am Eastern Time on August 4, “indicating it is operating normally and that it remains on its expected trajectory,” added JPL.
Based on a weak signal received earlier, engineers were confident that the spacecraft was functioning in good order despite the loss in communications, and would automatically re-orient itself properly when it did an automatic reset in October. This attempt however fixed things now.
Regardless, the spacecraft probably only has a few more more years of operations before its nuclear powered source finally runs out sometime after 2025.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
whew …. command and reply time lag ? Team anxious much ?
Good job.
Amazing.
Continue onwards Voyager ! Don’t worry about the absolute loneliness and darkness.
Continue on.
The Little Spacecraft That Could
Hat Tip to the engineers that built the Voyager spacecraft. I remember the mission expectations offered at the time and they were fulfilled. The flyby photos of the outer planets on the grand tour were captivating. Future missions, now successful as well were spawned. Many still function today, and the wealth of new discoveries and the explosion of new questions continues exponentially. Thanks Bob for hosting this website.
Minor edit in last sentence: “ before its nuclear powered source”
Andi: Thank you again, as always.
Yippie!