Science

Voyager 1 spacecraft thrusters fire up after decades idle

Where will you find engines that still work 37 years after last usage? Try 13bn miles away

NASA scientists announced that the Voyager 1 spacecraft officially is the first human-made object to venture into interstellar space.The 36-year-old probe is about 12 billion miles (19 billion kilometers) from our sun.

Mon Dec 4 2017 - 20:46

Nasa has succeeded in an engine test on a spacecraft 13 billion miles away.

Last week, ground controllers sent commands to fire back-up thrusters on Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft.

The thrusters had been idle for 37 years, since Voyager 1, launched more than 40 years ago, flew past Saturn.

To Nasa’s delight, the four dormant thrusters came alive.

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It took more than 19 hours, the one-way travel time for signals, for controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, to get the good news.

Engineers wanted to see whether these alternate thrusters could point Voyager 1’s antenna toward Earth, a job normally handled by a different set that is now degrading.

The thrusters will take over pointing operations next month.

The switch could extend Voyager 1’s life by two to three years.

Interstellar space

Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is the only spacecraft travelling through interstellar space, the region beyond our solar system.

Voyager 2 is close on its heels, nearly 11 billion miles from Earth.

A view of Jupiter and some of its moons, taken from Voyager 1 when it passed in 1979. File photograph: Nasa/Getty Images

The thruster test worked so well that Nasa expects to try it on Voyager 2.

That will not happen anytime soon, though, because Voyager 2’s original thrusters are still working fine.

The Voyager flight team dug up old records and studied the original software before tackling the test.

As each milestone in the test was achieved, the excitement level grew, said propulsion engineer Todd Barber.

“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,” he said in a statement.

The twin Voyagers provided stunning close-up views of Jupiter and Saturn.

Voyager 2 also offered shots of Uranus and Neptune. – AP

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