Voyager 1 spacecraft thrusters fired up for first time since 1980

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.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/01/us/voyager-1-thrusters-fired-first-time-since-1980/index.html

Wow, just wow!

They don’t make ‘em like that any more ….

I’m guessing they weren’t covered in dust and spiderwebs.

Yeah but micrometeorites, solar wind, thermal strain etc.

They sent someone there to fix any problems first.

dv said:

Yeah but micrometeorites, solar wind, thermal strain etc.

OK, I’ll concede it is pretty impressive. I hope they still make them like that.

dv said:

They don’t make ‘em like that any more ….

“Make Mercia grate again!”

value.

Michael V said:

dv said:

They don’t make ‘em like that any more ….

“Make Mercia grate again!”

How very Old England of you.

Witty Rejoinder said:

Michael V said:

dv said:

They don’t make ‘em like that any more ….

“Make Mercia grate again!”

How very Old England of you.

Drain the Fens!

You see this is news, important and interesting news.
I remember when ABC News Radio used to have a segment called Star Gazing presented by Stuart Garry.
That didn’t last long, not enough politics in it probably.

dv said:

Voyager 1 spacecraft thrusters fired up for first time since 1980

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.

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/01/us/voyager-1-thrusters-fired-first-time-since-1980/index.html

Now for Voyager 2?

A bit of a shock that the lifespan is perhaps more limited than I thought. The mission has I think been extended to the year 2025. But if the thrusters hadn’t worked.