Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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smp United States of America
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Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

#1

Post by smp »

From CNN:
"CNN — NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has experienced a computer glitch that’s causing a bit of a communication breakdown between the 46-year-old probe and its mission team on Earth.
Engineers are currently trying to solve the issue as the aging spacecraft explores uncharted cosmic territory along the outer reaches of the solar system."

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/13/world/vo ... index.html

Here's hoping for the best...

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Re: Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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Post by OzEclipse »

You mean the Intel 4004 processor has had a hiccup? Sheesh, failing after just 46 years. They don't make things like they used to!
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Re: Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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Post by Frankskywatcher »

They had a similar problem a while back with one of the antenna’s not working so they switched to a different one and resumed communication.
Gee if I had known there was so much to see I would have started decades ago ! :Astronomer1:

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Re: Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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Post by AntennaGuy »

I am awed by the engineering accomplishments of my ancestors.
* Meade 323 refractor on a manual equatorial mount.
* Celestron C6 SCT on a Twilight 1 Alt-Az mount
Prof. Barnhardt to Klaatu in The Day the Earth Stood Still: "There are several thousand questions I'd like to ask you.”
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Re: Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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Post by Ylem »

That thing is amazing, it's like the harvest gold refrigerator that works just fine in my aunt's basement.
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Re: Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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Post by messier 111 »

It's still incredible all this time in the great cold of the universe.
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Re: Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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Post by Frankskywatcher »

I have to agree with all the comments here and it’s also in part to the ground crew all these years.
They feed it new “ software” years ago to by pass a problem and recently when an antenna failed they switched the orientation of the probe and then used its UHF antenna to resume commutations,truly amazing!
Gee if I had known there was so much to see I would have started decades ago ! :Astronomer1:

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Re: Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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Post by helicon »

Vger is truly amazing. Heck it was in the first Star Trek movie which was like in 1979 or something...
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Re: Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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Post by helicon »

helicon wrote: ↑Fri Dec 15, 2023 4:01 pm
Thanks for sharing @smp Vger is truly amazing. Heck it was in the first Star Trek movie which was like in 1979 or something...
-Michael
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Re: Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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Post by Ylem »

helicon wrote: ↑Fri Dec 15, 2023 4:02 pm
helicon wrote: ↑Fri Dec 15, 2023 4:01 pm
Thanks for sharing @smp Vger is truly amazing. Heck it was in the first Star Trek movie which was like in 1979 or something...
Maybe it's "evolving" right now 😆
Seriously, I really hope they can establish communications, such an amazing accomplishment for mankind.
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Re: Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth due to computer issue

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Post by SkyHiker »

Here's a nice summary of the technical feats that made this odyssey possible. They used radiation hardened computers with multiple levels of fault checking. The sensitivity of the Earth-based antennas is mind blowing.
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