The Voyager 1 spacecraft has just started a propulsion engine that hasn't been used in decades.

TPO - Engineers at NASA have successfully started a propulsion system that Voyager 1 had not used for decades to solve a problem that could have prevented the 47-year-old spacecraft from communicating with Earth from billions of miles away.

When Voyager 1 launched into space on September 5, 1977, no one thought the probe would still be operational today. Due to its exceptionally long mission, Voyager 1 encountered problems as its components aged in the frigid outer reaches of the solar system. When a problem arose, engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, had to be innovative while remaining careful about how the spacecraft would react to any changes.

Currently the furthest spacecraft from Earth, Voyager 1 is approximately 24 billion kilometers away. The probe operates outside the heliosphere, where its instruments directly sample interstellar space.

Earlier this year, engineers discovered a problem when a fuel line inside one of Voyager's thrusters became clogged. If the thrusters are clogged, they cannot generate enough thrust to keep the spacecraft stable. Voyager's thrusters keep the spacecraft oriented in a way that allows it to communicate with Earth.

According to Calla Cofield, a communications specialist at JPL, if Voyager 1 wasn't positioned so that its antenna was pointed toward Earth, the spacecraft wouldn't be able to "hear" commands from the mission control center or relay data. The research team realized they would have to send commands to the spacecraft to switch to a different propulsion system, but the repair wouldn't be straightforward.

This wasn't the first time Voyager 1 had needed to switch to a different propulsion system in recent decades. Fortunately, the spacecraft had three propulsion systems: two attitude propulsion systems and one dedicated to orbital correction maneuvers. Voyager 1 used propulsion for various purposes when it flew past planets like Jupiter and Saturn in 1979 and 1980.

Currently, the spacecraft is traveling in a constant orbit, away from the solar system, so it only needs a propulsion system to help keep its antenna pointed toward Earth. To fuel the propulsion systems, liquid hydrazine is converted into gas and released in about 40 short bursts each day to keep Voyager 1 oriented correctly.

When the original research team transferred Voyager to its orbital correction propulsion system six years ago, the tube had expanded by 0.25 mm. But now, blockages have reduced it to 0.035 mm, about half the width of a human hair, according to NASA.

It's time to switch to a different propulsion system.

Ha Thu

According to CNN

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