In a near miraculous turn of events, these primary thrusters were last operational over two decades ago. . . out there, at about 260 degrees below zero for most of that time.
But bold and clever engineers have brought them back from the dead -- so the Voyager mission may continue at least another year or two. Here's the latest, courtesy our erstwhile Anon.:
. . .Engineers at NASA say they have successfully revived thrusters aboard Voyager 1, the farthest spacecraft from our planet, in the nick of time before a planned communications blackout.
A side effect of upgrades to an Earth-based antenna that sends commands to Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, the communications pause could have occurred when the probe faced a critical issue — thruster failure — leaving the space agency without a way to save the historic mission. The new fix to the vehicle’s original roll thrusters, out of action since 2004, could help keep the veteran spacecraft operating until it’s able to contact home again next year. . . .
Now over a half-century into this more than 15 billion mile one way trip. . . onward she sails, silently shiny and smooth -- into the interstellar void. Smile. . . .
नमस्ते
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