Twelve days after erroneous instructions pushed Voyager 2 ’s aerial 2 degrees off the line to Earth result in NASAlosing contactwith the space vehicle the first step has been made to rejuvenate communication theory .
Voyager 2 is now almost 20 billion kilometers from Earth ( 12.3 billion miles ) or 18.4 light - hr . That would make communicating dicey under any circumstances , and it ’s much worse when the instruments at the other end are almost 50 days onetime . The fact it’sstill doing researchfor us is almost miraculous .
These element also signify there is not much margin for error , so when a signal was sent to the ballistic capsule on July 11 that slimly redirected the chief antenna off from Earth , physical contact was lost . NASA engineers were mindful of risk like this , so Voyager 2 is programmed to reorient itself to taste to find Earth a few times a year , with the next exploit in October .
No one wants to look that long , entrust the craft to its own devices for two months , so NASA ’s Deep Space internet ( DSN ) is stress to restore communication beforehand . On August 1 , the Jet Propulsion Laboratory announced it had observe Voyager 2 ’s carrier sign , which itcalls“A fleck like hearing the space vehicle ’s ‘ New York minute ’ ” .
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“ The signaling is too faint for data to be distill , but the detection confirms that the ballistic capsule is still operate , ” JPLreports . Unsurprisingly , since there is no obvious force that could have diverted it , the spacecraft continue on its expect path into interstellar infinite .
The DSN will attempt to restore communications by beaming instruction to Voyager 2 telling it to reorientate its antenna now , rather than waiting for October .
Voyager 2 is the only spacecraft to have visited four planetary systems ( five if you count Earth ) and despiteincreasingly desperatepleas from the astronomical community of interests , is still our only commission to Uranus and Neptune .
