“For the first time since November, Voyager-1 is sending evaluable data about the condition and status of the technical equipment on board,” JPL said, adding that they are also working to have the spacecraft send scientific data.
Last year, Voayager-1’s communications malfunctioned from mid-November. Although there was still a radio signal, it did not provide usable data. Using a complicated procedure, the specialists were able to receive known data from the spacecraft despite a faulty microchip.
Voyager-1 is already 24 billion kilometers from Earth, and radio signals need more than 22 hours to reach our planet.
Voyager-1 launched on September 5, 1977 shortly after Voyager-2 was launched on August 20, 1977. The task of the two spacecraft was to observe the outer planets. Both spacecraft have already left the heliosphere.
There have been frequent communication problems, and last summer, for example, NASA was able to restore a temporarily lost connection with Voyager-2 after the spacecraft accidentally pointed its antenna away from Earth.
