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After a repair effort lasting 5 months, nan Voyager 1 spacecraft is erstwhile again sending usable updates connected its status, NASA announced Monday. File Image by NASA/JPL-Caltech
April 22 (UPI) -- The pioneering Voyager 1 deep-space probe is erstwhile again sending usable engineering updates backmost to Earth aft 5 months of repairs, NASA officials announced Monday.
Voyager 1, which on pinch its twin, Voyager 2, are nan only spacecraft to ever alert successful interstellar space, has not been capable to nonstop readable information astir its wellness aliases technological ngo since Nov. 14.
But pursuing lengthy and blase attempts to found a technological work-around, NASA revealed Monday its engineers had succeeded successful erstwhile again receiving Voyager's engineering position updates that tin beryllium deciphered.
Its technological information reports, however, stay unreadable and is nan adjacent rumor to beryllium addressed, nan agency said.
Scientists pinch NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory successful California confirmed that nan problem was traced to 1 of nan craft's 3 onboard computers, called nan formation information subsystem, aliases FDS, which is responsible for packaging nan subject and engineering information earlier it's sent to Earth.
They discovered that a azygous spot successful nan FDS is malfunctioning, and arsenic a hole worked connected transferring nan codification contained successful nan spot into a bid of 3 different locations wrong nan FDS -- a analyzable maneuver involving a blase bid of changes basal to guarantee nan various components could still usability together.
Because Voyager 1, nan astir distant manmade entity successful space, is much than 15 cardinal miles away, agelong waits of astir 24 hours were basal to complete each measurement of nan modifications.
But connected Saturday, NASA received confirmation nan changes were completed and successful arsenic nan probe erstwhile again began sending backmost readable engineering data.
Meanwhile, Voyager 2 continues to run normally, they said.
The copy Voyager spacecraft were launched successful 1977 and stay nan longest-running and astir distant spacecraft successful quality history.
Before entering interstellar space, some probes flew by Saturn and Jupiter, while Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and Neptune.
