Waspie_Dwarf Posted February 2, 2020 #1 Share Posted February 2, 2020 Voyager 2 spacecraft recovers function after a minor glitch A temporary malfunction aboard the interstellar spacecraft triggered an automatic fail-safe to conserve power. Quote The Voyager 2 spacecraft, one of just two human-made objects to reach interstellar space, experienced a slight malfunction this week. An operational hiccup caused the more than 40-year-old probe to enter a low-power mode Saturday. NASA engineers have since managed to communicate with the probe and have begun powering various instruments back up. It's not yet known what caused the malfunction, according to the space agency. Read More: Astronomy.com 6 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Not A Rockstar Posted February 2, 2020 #2 Share Posted February 2, 2020 I hope they both last a lot longer, but, I guess we should expect issues to arise. 40 years is amazing! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrLzs Posted February 3, 2020 #3 Share Posted February 3, 2020 What absolutely remarkable spacecraft these were, and are. That era (late 60's and 70's) was the pinnacle of pioneering science and engineering, imo. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoofGardener Posted February 3, 2020 #4 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Just amazing, and inspirational. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crikey Posted February 3, 2020 #5 Share Posted February 3, 2020 What's Voyager 2's purpose now that it's in interstellar space? I mean, there's nothing to see out there is there, so why are NASA communicating with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted February 3, 2020 Author #6 Share Posted February 3, 2020 15 minutes ago, Crikey said: What's Voyager 2's purpose now that it's in interstellar space? I mean, there's nothing to see out there is there, so why are NASA communicating with it? Just because there is nothing to see it doesn't mean that there is nothing to measure. Interstellar space is not empty. It is teeming with particles from the stars. These can not be measured from within the solar system's bow shock because the solar wind deflects them and overwhelms them. The Voyagers carry more than just cameras, they carried instruments to make all sorts of measurements, including charged particles. Both Voyagers are returning useful data to NASA that no other spacecraft could collect. All the time the Voyagers are still making useful scientific observations why wouldn't NASA still communicate with them? 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon the frog Posted February 3, 2020 #7 Share Posted February 3, 2020 These spacecraft where made sturdy and show the great use of a nuclear power source. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCC1701 Posted February 4, 2020 #8 Share Posted February 4, 2020 I've got an LED alarm clock i bought in 1975. It is also still going after all these years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waspie_Dwarf Posted February 4, 2020 Author #9 Share Posted February 4, 2020 2 hours ago, NCC1701 said: I've got an LED alarm clock i bought in 1975. It is also still going after all these years. And that is relevant how exactly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brassboy86 Posted February 5, 2020 #10 Share Posted February 5, 2020 On 2/4/2020 at 11:44 AM, Waspie_Dwarf said: And that is relevant how exactly? It was made in the same era, I think was his line of thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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