NASA reports progress on computer issue with Voyager 1 spacecraft, revealing that the problem may have been caused by some damaged RAM. The latest update shows that the spacecraft was able to send back operational data, indicating the status of the engineering systems onboard.
The computer problem on Voyager 1 has halted the transmission of operational data back to Earth since November 14, 2023. However, other control functions continue to receive commands and work normally. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) engineering team later identified that one out of three computers in the flight data subsystem (FDS) responsible for collecting and sending scientific and engineering data back to Earth was experiencing issues.
After further investigation, the JPL team found that the problematic RAM was part of the software code storage for the FDS, causing system-wide malfunctions. Initially, they attempted to relocate the code to other parts of the RAM but found insufficient space for this code, leading them to solve the issue by separating and distributing the code components. This solution required thorough testing due to the complexity of the operation.
The new code was successfully sent and stored in a new location in the RAM on April 18, taking 22 and a half hours for data transmission and retrieval back to Earth (a distance of 24 billion kilometers). This confirmed that everything was back to normal on April 20, with the resumption of regular storage and transmission of scientific data.
TLDR: NASA addressed computer issues on Voyager 1 caused by damaged RAM, successfully resolving the problem by redistributing code components in a new location within the spacecraft’s system.
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