NASA accidentally instructs Voyager 2 to turn its antenna away from Earth

[Shawn Knight]

Facepalm: NASA accidentally instructed Voyager 2 to reposition its antennas away from Earth, and it could be months before the space agency is able to reestablish a solid communication link with the spacecraft.

On July 21, a series of planned operations were sent to the distant space probe. Unfortunately, the commands inadvertently caused the craft to shift its position ever so slightly. The two degree move away from Earth left the probe unable to receive signals or transmit data with the ground antennas of the Deep Space Network.

NASA's Voyager 2 probe launched in 1977 along with its twin, Voyager 1. It launched 16 days before Voyager 1 and was originally commissioned as a five year mission to study Jupiter and Saturn. The probe eventually conducted flybys of Uranus and Neptune, entered interstellar space in 2018 (Voyager 1 did so in 2012), and is still providing useful data all these years later.

NASA is not writing off Voyager 2 just yet. The agency programmed the probe to reset its orientation multiple times each year, perhaps for instances just like this. The next scheduled reset is slated for October 15 and should everything go smoothly, two way communication should resume at that point. Until then, NASA expects the probe to continue on its current trajectory without incident.

Mission Update!

The Deep Space Network has picked up a carrier signal from @NASAVoyager 2, letting us know that the spacecraft is in good health. https://t.co/yhNIpjtY12

– NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) July 31, 2023

A recent Twitter post from the NASA Sun & Space account notes the Deep Space Network has picked up a carrier signal from Voyager 2, letting the team know the craft is in good health. Suzanne Dodd, Voyager's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said this "heartbeat" buoyed their spirits.

It is still business as usual for Voyager 1. As of August 1, 2023, the probe is the most distant human-made object from Earth at more than 14.85 billion miles away. NASA believes Voyager 1 will be able to continue operating until at least 2025 before running out of power. The agency started switching off the probe's instruments last year to extend its life.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99627-nasa-accidentally-instructs-voyager-2-turn-antenna-away.html

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

This is what happens when Gen-Z’ers try to play with toys made by Boomers. Get off your damn Tik-Tok app and pay attention. *****s.

 

[wiyosaya]

Ah, another "Pounds are Kilograms" moment.

With any luck, they will be able to recover, but at that distance, two degrees is the equivalent of pointing at another star.IMO, it will have to be luck to recover from this.

Perhaps they should have a command simulator where they run commands like this before they send them to the real craft. However, congress probably did not give them the budget for that or, worse yet, they did not even think of doing something like that.

 

[yRaz]

This is what happens when Gen-Z’ers try to play with toys made by Boomers. Get off your damn Tik-Tok app and pay attention. *****s.

Nothing in the article states that a zoomer was responsible. Maybe the failing mind of aging boomers is at fault? Lets give NASA some credit, they have some of the brightest minds the world has to offer working for them.

 

[MaestroIT]

two degrees is the equivalent of pointing at another star.

Not exactly another star, 2 degrees at 19.9 billion kilometers means just 695 million km drift from earth, the distance from Neptune to the sun is 4.5 billion km... It is still pointing to the solar system but not earth

 

[WhoCaresAnymore]

Nothing in the article states that a zoomer was responsible. Maybe the failing mind of aging boomers is at fault? Lets give NASA some credit, they have some of the brightest minds the world has to offer working for them.

It was a zoomer. TikTok, instagram running side by side

 

[return]

Doesn't matter! You & I will die soon!

 

[mrvco]

Better late than never news.

 

[wiyosaya]

Not exactly another star, 2 degrees at 19.9 billion kilometers means just 695 million km drift from earth, the distance from Neptune to the sun is 4.5 billion km... It is still pointing to the solar system but not earth

Ah yes, Trig makes it a walk in the park.

Indeed, as the update says, good news. @yRaz NASA had a back-up plan all along and as usual, the media emphasized the mistake.

NASA hears 'heartbeat' signal from Voyager 2 probe a week after losing contact

NASA engineers have received a "heartbeat" signal from Voyager 2, bringing hope that they may be able to reestablish contact with the probe months ahead of schedule.

www.livescience.com

 

[Darth Shiv]

This is what happens when Gen-Z’ers try to play with toys made by Boomers. Get off your damn Tik-Tok app and pay attention. *****s.

They literally have contingency. Calm down.

 

[Puiu]

This is what happens when Gen-Z’ers try to play with toys made by Boomers. Get off your damn Tik-Tok app and pay attention. *****s.

It feels more like a boomer who didn't understand the UI and buttons.

 

[3volv3d]

It feels more like a boomer who didn't understand the UI and buttons.

See this is what happens when the keys on the keyboard give up, and they sack Nigel for a younger gender fluid type called Persephony - previously called Dave, who can use the touchscreen interface, but it fell out of his pocket when travelling to work on his e-scooter while saving the planet, and now it has a feckin cracked screen.

 

[Underdog]

Worry not. Uncle Vladimir will send him a new one.

 

[hwertz]

The good news is, I doubt any data will be lost. It's no longer taking photos and so on, so the storage system on there should have plenty of room for the several months of particle detector data (some from instruments designed by Van Allen etc. at the physics lab here at the U of Iowa).

 

[Endymio]

Not exactly another star, 2 degrees at 19.9 billion kilometers means just 695 million km drift from earth, the distance from Neptune to the sun is 4.5 billion km... It is still pointing to the solar system but not earth

Incorrect premise. From 19.9B km away, the sun subtends an angle of about 0.002 degrees, meaning the antenna is off by a factor of 1000 -- a different star entirely.

By the logic of your post, any telescope on earth is always "pointed at the sun", since its line of sight always passes through some portion of the solar system.