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NASA Shuts Off Instrument on Voyager 1 to Keep Spacecraft Operating (science.nasa.gov)
submitted 1 month ago by vogi@piefed.social to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Engineers are confident that shutting down the LECP will give Voyager 1 about a year of breathing room. They are using the time to finalize a more ambitious energy-saving fix for both Voyagers they call “the Big Bang,” which is designed to further extend Voyager operations. The idea is to swap out a group of powered devices all at once — hence the nickname — turning some things off and replacing them with lower-power alternatives to keep the spacecraft warm enough to continue gathering science data.

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[-] popekingjoe@lemmy.world 135 points 1 month ago

What a badass little craft to have kept operating for so long. 🫡

[-] mystik@lemmy.world 87 points 1 month ago

Check out AMSAT-OSCAR 7 -- Closer to home, but launched in 1974, and still waking up when there's sun to operate. It's the oldest "operational" satellite still up there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMSAT-OSCAR_7

[-] popekingjoe@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

Fucking A good on ya for the heads up. I somehow haven't heard of this one.

[-] ivanafterall@lemmy.world 11 points 1 month ago

AMSAT = Amateur Satellite! Holy shit. Amateur, my ass.

[-] borari@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 1 month ago

It’s a satellite for amateur radio, it’s not implying it’s an amateur satellite.

[-] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 month ago

Cool that the Polish opposition used it to get around wire tapping.

[-] FosterMolasses@leminal.space 14 points 1 month ago

A truly beautiful piece of engineering

this post was submitted on 18 Apr 2026
693 points (99.1% liked)

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