Voyager 1 has completed a coordinated power-saving change and recovered from a two-day communications interruption, NASA reported on October 29.
In September, engineers switched off three devices and substituted three lower-power alternatives. The simultaneous changes preserved the distribution of heat needed to keep spacecraft equipment operating.
The maneuver extends operation of Voyager 1’s remaining science instruments. Its radioisotope generators lose about four watts of electrical output annually as their plutonium fuel decays. NASA said another instrument could have required shutdown as early as summer 2027 without the changes.
A separate event interrupted contact on October 18 and 19. The Deep Space Network detected the spacecraft again on October 20, before engineers transmitted troubleshooting commands.
Telemetry showed that one thruster group had stopped operating and backup thrusters had activated. Voyager’s programmed fault protection performs such substitutions when its computers detect a problem with active equipment.
Communication has continued since October 20. The spacecraft is collecting measurements in interstellar space, beyond the Sun’s heliosphere.
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