Decades in Dormancy: NASA’s Voyager 1 Radio Reportedly Revived After Nearly Sleeping, Backup Radio Reawakened After 43 Years Offline

NASA reported an anomaly with the Voyager 1 spacecraft on October 16. The team inadvertently triggered the heater causing a system error and losing communication signals. Detecting the issue on October 18, the team realized the spacecraft was still transmitting signals but at very low bandwidth in emergency mode. After briefly regaining signals, they were lost again.

The team anticipates the protective system will cycle twice more, shutting down the main X-band radio frequency and activating the lower-energy S-band backup radio. This module was last used in 1981, 43 years ago (4 years after leaving Earth), with uncertainty about its long-distance communication capabilities. Confirmation came only after sending commands back.

Currently, the team plans to investigate the anomaly and communicate via the S-band initially, deciding later on how to restore normal operations to the spacecraft.

TLDR: NASA reported Voyager 1’s system anomaly, losing and regaining signals in emergency mode, prompting the team to switch to the backup S-band for communication. Further investigations are underway to address the issue and bring the spacecraft back to normal functioning.