NASA successfully repaired Voyager 1 thruster from a distance of 25 billion km

Simulation of Voyager 1 in space - Photo: NASA

Engineers from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have just performed an amazing feat by successfully repairing the thrusters that control the rotation of the Voyager 1 spacecraft, even though these engines have not been working since 2004, according to the IFLScience website on May 15.

They accomplished that feat just before the antenna used to communicate between NASA and Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, was shut down for upgrades starting May 4 and lasting until February 2026.

Since September 5, 1977, Voyager 1 has been “wandering” around the universe. Voyager 1’s thrusters are essential to keeping the spacecraft’s antenna pointed toward Earth. Inside these thrusters are rotational thrusters (auxiliary engines that control the spacecraft’s rotation).

However, in 2004, two small heaters inside the rotating thrusters lost power and the problem was deemed irreparable. Since then, Voyager 1 has had to rely on its backup rotating thrusters.

Voyager 1 engineers were concerned that debris blockages could cause the backup engines to fail this fall, so they sought to restore the main rotation thrusters, which have been out of commission for 21 years.

The aforementioned antenna downtime for upgrades prompted the engineering team to revisit the main rotation thruster issue. The team believes that a circuit disturbance may have flipped a switch in the system, and if they could flip it again with a command, it might be possible to get it working again.

NASA engineers took the risk of repairing the spacecraft’s main rotational thruster, which could cause an explosion if it didn’t operate as predicted. This was a very difficult task, not to mention that transmitting signals between Earth and Voyager 1 took more than 23 hours each way.

Fortunately, the main rotation thrusters are back in action. “This is another miracle besides Voyager 1 itself,” said Todd Barber, an engineer involved with the Voyager 1 mission.

The farthest traveled ship ever

After completing NASA's original primary mission of observing the gas giant planets, Voyager 1 has continued its journey and traveled farther than any other spacecraft, now at a distance of 25 billion kilometers from Earth.

Today, many of the ship's original equipment or functions have been turned off as they are no longer needed, while others have stopped working.

ANH THU

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nasa-sua-thanh-cong-dong-co-day-tau-voyager-1-tu-khoang-cach-25-ti-km-20250516150616249.htm