Skip to main content

Voyager 1 spacecraft thrusters fired up for first time since 1980

Voyager 1 spacecraft thrusters fired up for first time since 1980

By Alaa Elassar and Ralph Ellisa
 Updated at 1513 GMT (2313 HKT) December 2, 2017
00:47
Stunning new image of our galaxy
01:20
NASA: Jupiter and Saturn's moons could have life
01:48
Asteroid to orbit Earth's moon?
01:22
NASA is hoping to catch an asteroid
02:31
Dark matter discovery?
00:54
Mercury makes rare transit across the sun
00:53
Earth-like planet discovered orbiting sun's neighbor
00:52
Mysterious signal not from aliens, scientists say
01:28
Voyager mission: 10 billion miles and counting
01:28
Star collision scatters gold and platinum
01:00
See what it's like to fly over Mars
02:06
NASA crashes Cassini into Saturn
01:37
Cassini prepares for a death plunge to Saturn
01:04
New source of Jupiter's aurora discovered
01:38
Watch the sun go dark again and again
00:45
NASA releases new pictures of Jupiter
00:47
Stunning new image of our galaxy
01:20
NASA: Jupiter and Saturn's moons could have life
01:48
Asteroid to orbit Earth's moon?
01:22
NASA is hoping to catch an asteroid
02:31
Dark matter discovery?
00:54
Mercury makes rare transit across the sun
00:53
Earth-like planet discovered orbiting sun's neighbor
00:52
Mysterious signal not from aliens, scientists say
01:28
Voyager mission: 10 billion miles and counting
01:28
Star collision scatters gold and platinum
01:00
See what it's like to fly over Mars
02:06
NASA crashes Cassini into Saturn
01:37
Cassini prepares for a death plunge to Saturn
01:04
New source of Jupiter's aurora discovered
01:38
Watch the sun go dark again and again
00:45
NASA releases new pictures of Jupiter

Story highlights

  • Voyager 1 is in interstellar space and is NASA's farthest spacecraft
  • Scientists were looking for a new way to reorient Voyager 1
(CNN) — It's a good idea to have a backup plan, especially in interstellar space.
NASA scientists needed to reorient the 40-year-old Voyager 1 -- the space agency's farthest spacecraft -- so its antenna would point toward Earth, 13 billion miles away. But the "attitude control thrusters," the first option to make the spacecraft turn in space, have been wearing out.
So NASA searched for a Plan B, eventually deciding to try using four "trajectory correction maneuver" (TCM) thrusters, located on the back side of Voyager 1. But those thrusters had not been used in 37 years. NASA wasn't sure they'd work.
Tuesday, engineers fired up the thrusters and waited eagerly to find out whether the plan was successful. They got their answer 19 hours and 35 minutes later, the time it took for the results to reach Earth: The set of four thrusters worked perfectly. The spacecraft turned and the mood at NASA shifted to jubilation.
"The Voyager team got more excited each time with each milestone in the thruster test. The mood was one of relief, joy and incredulity after witnessing these well-rested thrusters pick up the baton as if no time had passed at all," said Todd Barber, a propulsion engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
"With these thrusters that are still functional after 37 years without use, we will be able to extend the life of the Voyager 1 spacecraft by two to three years," said Suzanne Dodd, project manager for Voyager at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Launched 40 years ago

In 1977, the twin spacecrafts Voyager 1 and 2 were launched, 16 days apart. In September 2013, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft became the first human-made object to leave the solar system, entering interstellar space, the environment between the stars.
Voyager 2 lags behind, but according to NASA, the spacecraft is following the lead of the first Voyager and is on course to enter interstellar space in the coming years. The pair are still exploring the outer solar system and continue to communicate with Earth daily.
The Voyager missions discovered the first active volcanoes beyond Earth, at Jupiter's moon Io, and hints of a subsurface ocean on Jupiter's moon Europa. They encountered Saturn's largest moon, Titan, where data showed a thick Earth-like atmosphere; found the icy moon Miranda at Uranus; and spotted icy-cold geysers on Neptune's moon Triton.
The significance of Voyager is the vast amount of knowledge of outer space it has provided and the interest in further exploration. That interest has resulted in the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini mission to Saturn, as well as the discovery of three new moons around Saturn using Earth-based instruments.

The future of Voyager

Because of the success in the attempt to test Voyager 1's TCM thrusters, NASA plans to test the ones on Voyager 2. The need to use them is not as immediate, however, because the primary thrusters of Voyager 2 have not significantly degraded.
It is expected that in the year 40,272,Voyager 1 will come within 1.7 light years of an obscure star in the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Bear or Little Dipper) and in about 40,000 years, Voyager 2 will come within about 1.7 light years of a star called Ross 248, a small star in the constellation of Andromeda.

Comments

TRENDING

Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims

How to prepare Menemen

Drinking Water Crisis in Rural Towns

How to make Mini Pumpkins Stuffed with Onion, Mushrooms, and Chard

How to prepare Seared Chicken Breast With Potatoes and Capers in 6 easy Steps

Popular Food To Eat in China |Cold Sesame Noodles

How to prepare Skillet Chicken With Black Beans, Rice and Chiles

New symptoms of omicron virus

Popular posts from this blog

Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims

New post Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims 25 minutes ago Share this with Facebook   Share this with Twitter   Share Media caption Stormy Daniels: 'I was threatened' Adult-film star Stormy Daniels has filed a court motion for US President Donald Trump to testify about her claim that they had a relationship. Her lawyer wants sworn testimony from Mr Trump about a "hush" agreement the actress says she signed. The attorney, Michael Avenatti, is also seeking a legal interview with the president's lawyer. Ms Daniels alleges she had unprotected sex with Mr Trump in 2006 a year after he married Melania Trump. He denies it. Mr Avenatti's motion, filed in a court in the Central District of California early on Wednesday, ramps up the legal duel between the porn star and the president. Should Trump be worried about Stormy Daniels? The president and the porn star: Why this matters Ex-model ...

How to prepare Menemen

 Menemen (Turkish Scrambled Eggs With Tomato) Time :25 minutes Menemen, made from eggs, tomatoes, peppers and sometimes onions, is a distinctly Turkish breakfast comfort food. Although a year-round dish, it is especially pleasing in the summer, with really ripe tomatoes from the garden or farmer’s market. Be creative with this dish: Add shallots, chiles, fresh herbs or Aleppo pepper, or treat it as purists do, with only tomatoes and eggs. Cook slowly, stirring infrequently, until the eggs form billowy puffs. You can serve topped with feta cheese or lamb sausage, with any warm flatbread on the side. INGREDIENTS Yield : 4 servings 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1medium white onion (about 10 ounces), peeled and diced ½teaspoon dried oregano, plus more as needed ¼teaspoon Aleppo pepper, plus more as needed Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1mild but flavorful long green pepper (such as Turkish carliston, Hungarian banana or Anaheim), stemmed, halved lengthwise, seeded, ...

Drinking Water Crisis in Rural Towns

Drinking water is essential for life, but many rural towns in the U.S. are struggling to provide safe and reliable water to their residents. For decades, these towns have neglected their drinking water systems, resulting in aging infrastructure, water quality violations, and financial challenges. In this blog post, we will explore some of the causes and consequences of this crisis, and what can be done to address it. Causes of the Crisis One of the main causes of the crisis is the shrinking population of many rural towns. As people move to urban areas or other states, the tax base and the customer base of the water systems decline. This means less revenue to cover the costs of operation, maintenance, and improvement of the water systems. According to a report by the American Bar Association³, in 2015, 9 percent of all water systems had a documented violation of water quality standards, exposing 21 million people to unhealthy drinking water. These violations were more likely to occur in...

How to make Mini Pumpkins Stuffed with Onion, Mushrooms, and Chard

Mini Pumpkins Stuffed with Onion, Mushrooms, and Chard INGREDIENTS 4  (10 to 12-ounce) mini pumpkins, or 2 (1 1/2-pound) acorn squash 1 1/2  teaspoons  kosher salt, divided 8  ounces  fresh chanterelles or other wild mushrooms 1  medium yellow or white onion 1/2  bunch  Swiss chard (about 4 ounces) 1/2  bunch  fresh parsley 2  sprigs  fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 2  ounces  Comté or Swiss cheese 3  tablespoons  olive oil, divided 2  tablespoons  crème fraîche or sour cream 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper INSTRUCTIONS Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F. Cut the tops off 4 mini pumpkins (like a jack-o-lantern), or cut 2 acorn squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds and fibers. Place cut-side up in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Place the lids next to the pumpkins. Season the insides of the pumpkins with 1/4 teaspoon of the...