Voyager 1, the farthest spacecraft from Earth, has experienced communication problems for five months. On November 14, 2023, the spacecraft encountered issues with its binary code communication with NASA. Engineers discovered that a corrupted code on a chip responsible for 3% of FDS memory was causing the persistent glitch, rendering the spacecraft’s data unusable.
Although the chip cannot be directly repaired or replaced, NASA engineers were able to move the affected code to a different location in FDS memory by dividing it into chunks and storing them separately. This process involved adjusting storage components to ensure that the broken code did not interfere with other systems. The team also updated references to the location of the failed code.
On April 18, 2024, NASA began sending the code to its new location in FDS memory. Despite a delay of 22.5 hours in communication between Earth and Voyager 1, engineers confirmed on April 20 that the edit was successful. Scientists were able to contact Voyager 1 and monitor its status, allowing them to work on restoring the FDS software responsible for handling scientific data.
After over three decades since its launch in 1977, Voyager 1 has become the first artificial object to leave the solar system and enter interstellar space. Its sibling spacecraft, Voyager 2, followed six years later in 2018. Both spacecraft continue to function well and communicate with Earth, making them unique man-made objects exploring beyond our Sun’s influence.
NASA engineers have successfully addressed communication problems on Voyager 1 after months of difficulties by moving corrupted code from a faulty chip into a different location in FDS memory by dividing it into chunks and storing them separately while updating references to avoid interference with other systems.
Voyager 1 has been exploring interstellar space for over a decade since leaving our solar system in September of 2018. It continues to send back valuable data about its technical systems while scientists work on restoring its software responsible for handling scientific data after recovering from communication problems caused by corrupted code on a faulty chip.
In November of last year (2023), Voyager experienced communication difficulties due to an issue with its binary code communication with NASA control teams at Earth.
Despite this issue lasting five months without any updates from Voyager One’s operating status until April 20th of this year (April of next year), engineers at NASA received readings from Voyager One thanks to their efforts address technical issues on board.
During this time frame, scientists monitored their progress closely as they worked tirelessly to repair their equipment so they could continue their mission beyond our solar system.
Finally, after several attempts at correction and modification, engineers were able
