10 Steps NASA Took to Repair Voyager 1's Computer Problem from 15 Billion Miles Away

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vizionmag.com

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07-05-2024

NASA engineers solved a computer problem on Voyager 1 from a staggering distance of over 15 billion miles away.

The glitch rendered Voyager 1's transmissions unreadable, disrupting the flow of vital science and engineering data back to Earth.

The malfunction was traced back to a single computer chip within Voyager 1's Flight Data Subsystem. The root cause of the malfunction was identified as originating from a single computer chip within Voyager 1's Flight Data Subsystem.

Engineers determined that the faulty chip could not be repaired, prompting them to devise an innovative solution.

Instead of fixing the chip, engineers relocated the affected software code to a different part of the subsystem's memory system.

Due to the size of the code, engineers divided it into sections and stored them in various locations within the subsystem.

Careful adjustments were made to ensure that the divided code sections could still function cohesively as a whole.

The effectiveness of the fix was tested by relocating a code responsible for transmitting spacecraft data, yielding readable data transmissions from Voyager 1.

The complex repair process was compounded by Voyager 1's immense distance from Earth, where radio signals take 22.5 hours to travel each way.

Engineers will continue to refine and synchronize the remaining parts of the code, enabling Voyager 1 to resume sending readable data as it ventures further into space.