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Klas Group is an engineering and design company with over 25 years of experience developing innovative communications solutions for the network edge. The company specializes in integrating enterprise networking capabilities from global IT leaders with in-house hardware and software platforms designed to meet market demands and the most stringent environmental requirements. 

Klas deployable communications systems deliver unparalleled capability to the user and connect them to the ‘Internet of Things’ in ways never thought possible.

Tactical Radio Integration Kit

The Voyager Tactical Radio Integration Kit (TRIK) allows uninhibited flow of critical information across tactical networks on the battlefield by making disparate voice and data networks interoperable through combinations of hardware and software to form seamless gateways.

Tactical Data Centre

Deploying data-center sized servers and storage to remote areas has always been challenging logistically from the perspective of size, weight and power. Since the launch of Voyager TDC, it’s possible to deploy data-center grade compute and storage using commercial aircraft.

Tactical Cloud Platform

The Klas Tactical Cloud Platform (TCP) is the only platform that allows you deploy database application and leverage the power of AI and ML at the tactical edge. It provides Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity, unmatched compute power, 10 gigabit switching and a GPU that uses state of the art NVIDIA technology. 

Virtual Multi-Enclave System

The Voyager Virtual Multi-Enclave System (VMES) integrates virtualized routing, switching, RoIP and compute capabilities into a single, power distribution system that supports multiple enclaves, in any environment. This small and lightweight transport kit enables communications units to more rapidly deploy.

Voyager chassis are designed to be more than transit cases. They greatly enhance the Voyager system of system’s modularity by organizing and powering the network modules. This intelligently planned nested uninterruptible power supply (UPS) capability allows subsystems to be carried within larger chassis for multi-enclave operations, yet remain quickly severable should a subsystem need to be separated for individual operations.

This means, the chassis itself powers and charges the battery-backed network modules that can therefore be removed for remote operation with no downtime. Voyager chassis also may be customized or specially designed to support unique operating environments or deployment platforms

Voyager 1 & Voyager 1+

As an alternative to a backplane chassis, the Voyager 1 battery pack can be attached to the rear of any Voyager network module.

Voyager 2 Slim

Battery-backed power is provided by Voyager 1 and the system is also ideal for vehicle installs with addition of Voyager Module Battery Bracket (VMBB) or Voyager Module Adapter (KVMA).

The chassis is compatible with the Standardized A-Kit Vehicle Envelope (SAVE) specification and the SINCGARS MT-6352. 

Voyager 8 QP

The Voyager 8 Quad Power (QP) is an eight slot chassis with four separate power elements for multi-enclave applications.

Optimized for backpack use, Voyager 2 has support for two Voyager Network Modules and either ViaSat KG-250X, TACLANE-Nano KG-175N, KIV-54, KG175D or Mini-Catapan HAIPE devices.

Voyager 4 is a lightweight chassis with space for up to four Voyager modules with or without a Voyager 1 battery pack attached.

The award-winning Voyager 8 is a carbon fiber, airline carry-on-size transit case with a rack-mountable UPS that can host up eight Voyager modules.

Voyager 158

The two-channel Harris 158 radio provides superior security and mission flexibility. Voyager 158 builds on this capability with a 50W amplifier and a Bias T for each communications channel.

The Voyager 2+ chassis is the smallest dual-enclave system available. Optimized for backpack use, Voyager 2+ has support for two Voyager Network Modules and up to two HAPIE devices.

Voyager 4 Slim

Voyager 4 Slim is a lightweight chassis with space for up to four Voyager modules with or without a Voyager 1 battery pack attached.

Voyager 8 Plus

With support for 32GB RAM and dual-core performance, VoyagerVMm supports VMware virtualization for Guest Operating support.

Voyager TRIK-M

Portable package with support for Harris Manpack radios.

Voyager 8+ sized case that houses either Harris 117G, 158, 160 or 167 radios plus 5 Voyager modules.

RADIO INTEGRATION

VoyagerEM m4

VoyagerEM m8

Route & switch.

TRX R2 is a rugged compute gateway that combines both connectivity and local compute so that vehicles have cloud connectivity when they need it, but local processing power for analytics when there is no backhaul. 

VoyagerSW10GG

With the benefits of Cisco IOS-XE, Voyager SW10GG makes it easier to network high-bandwidth datacenter and cloud applications in remote and austere locations.

VoyagerESR 2.0

VoyagerESR 2.0 is the ultimate in Cisco hardware routing and switching in a single Voyager module.

VoyagerSW12GG

Datacenter or cloud workloads use Software-Defined Storage and Hyper-Converged technology to distribute processing across multiple compute nodes.

VoyagerSW26G

Take advantage of your tactical compute capability by providing high-speed access from client to server using VoyagerSW26G.

COMPUTE, PROCESS & STORAGE

VoyagerVM 4.0

VoyagerVM 4.0 is an enterprise grade server for extreme edge environments, built on the latest Intel Xeon D processor (Ice Lake D). Built rugged from the inside out.

VoyagerNAS 3.0

VoyagerNAS 3.0 combines the powerful compute capabilities of VoyagerVM 3.0 with a removable eight bay SATA/SAS cassette.

VoyagerVM 3.0

Based around Intel’s Xeon D architecture, it is designed from the outset to provide the maximum performance while operating in temperatures up to 50C.

With VoyagerGPU, you can analyse video in real time for inference applications but also train your AI/ML models at the edge of the network.

SYSTEMS & ACCESSORIES

With this enterprise communications suite in place, important members throughout the DoD community, and the secure networks on which they rely, are never out of reach.

Deploying data-center sized servers and storage to remote areas has always been challenging logistically from the perspective of size, weight and power.

m-Series Adapter

The KVMAm-ETH is a rugged power adaptor which allows a Voyager m-Series module to be used as a standalone unit and powered via its DC input port. 

Module Adapter

The KVMA is attached to the rear of a Voyager module and converts the blade type input connector of the module to a circular type connector with a rugged locking mechanism. 

Klas’ Pioneer Express (GRRIP, AN/PSC-15) is a small and lightweight flyaway communications system that includes a laptop, red/black router and HAIPE support.

VoyagerCell Duo

VoyagerCell Duo is a rapidly deployable standards-based 4G LTE base station complete with a virtual machine server that together provide high-speed voice, video and data communications.

Voyager HAIPE Bracket

VoyagerHAIPE Brackets provide easy mounting for HAIPE encryption devices to any Voyager network module with a Voyager 1 Chassis attached.

VoyagerRRCS

The VoyagerRRCS utilizes the modular architecture of the Klas Voyager range of network modules mounted in a Voyager 2 chassis.

Kortex R is a holistic solution offering high-performance compute, networking and connectivity, facilitating expeditionary forces, with data center grade services, at the tactical edge. 

VoyagerFX2 provides two Perle Fast Ethernet media converters and also contains an integrated power supply to leverage the Voyager power backplane.

RADIO BRACKETS

L3 Tactical ROVER-3 ISR (Rx)

Klas-voy-rb1.

Harris Falcon III AN/PRC-152A

Klas-voy-rb3.

Thales MBITR2/ViaSat BATS-D16

Klas-voy-rb7.

Silvus StreamCaster SC4200

Klas-voy-rb10.

AN/PRC-163 + AR-20 Amp

Klas-voy-rb13.

Motorola MTM5400

Klas-voy-rb18.

Rockwell Collins AN/PSN-13 DAGR

Klas-voy-rb22.

Silvus SM4210 or DTC DTC-SDR

Klas-voy-rb26.

ViaSat BATS-D V1&V2

Klas-voy-rb30.

RF AR-50 Amplifier

Klas-voy-rb33.

L3 Tactical ROVER-3 ISR (Tx&Rx)

Klas-voy-rb1-tx.

Harris 152A + AR-20 Amp

Klas-voy-rb4.

TrellisWare TW-950

Klas-voy-rb8.

Epiq Solutions Matchstiq S10

Klas-voy-rb11.

KLAS-VOY-RB14

Owl OPDS-100D Data Diode

Klas-voy-rb19.

Harris 152A + AR-20 AMP

Klas-voy-rb24.

Thales Javelin MANET TSM

Klas-voy-rb27.

ViaSat BATS Vehicular Amp

Klas-voy-rb31.

Harris AN/PRC-117G

Klas-voy-mrb.

Thales AN/PRC-148 JEM

Klas-voy-rb2.

Thales 148 + AR-20 Amp

Klas-voy-rb5.

Persistent Systems MPU5

Klas-voy-rb9.

MSDD 6000XL VHS/UHF Digitizer

Klas-voy-rb12.

KLAS-VOY-RB15

Aerospace Link 16 TacNet

Klas-voy-rb20.

Harris AR/PRC-163

Klas-voy-rb25.

L3Harris RF-9820S

Klas-voy-rb28.

AN/PRC-148E Spear

Klas-voy-rb32.

Voyager Module Battery Bracket

Klas-voy-mbb.

VoyagerVM 3.0 is the latest generation of Voyager compute platform. Based around Intel’s Xeon D architecture, it is designed from the outset to provide the maximum performance while operating in temperatures up to  50° C.

VoyagerVM allows applications built for the datacenter to migrate to the edge of the network.

VoyagerVM supports Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, VMWare ESXi, and KlasOS Keel . Furthermore, VoyagerVM is VMware vSAN and Nutanix AOS certified (click here to learn more about the joint Klas and Nutanix offering).

VoyagerVM 3.0

Key features.

Available with a choice of processors:

• Intel® Xeon® D-1539 8-core
• 48 GB RAM with option to upgrade to 96 GB
• Intel® Xeon® D-1559 12-core
• Intel® Xeon® D-1577 16-core
• Two 2.5” SSD slots
• NVMe-based VIK+ with 512 GB storage
• Two 10 Gb SFP+ ports
• Two 1 Gb copper ports
• Rugged enclosure with active air cooling
• Supports Microsoft Hyper-V, Nutanix AHV, VMware ESX/ESXi and KlasOS Keel
• VMware vSAN and Nutanix AOS certified
• BMC over Ethernet for secure centralized management

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Enhanced Tactical Radio Integration Kit Now Supports Over 25 Radios

Intelligence on the battlefield is crucial to our Troops and quick reaction to ever-changing environments enables them to be in the right location with the right firepower to effectively engage the enemy. Communication and sharing of this intelligence using radios has traditionally been disjointed. As a response, Klas created the Voyager TRIK in 2016 to enable seamless sharing of information and communications over a variety of radio networks. Klas has integrated radios into the Voyager 8 chassis through the use of innovative, custom-designed radio brackets that fit securely in an IP67 rated enclosure that’s backed by AC, DC and battery power.

The use of radio brackets allows easy integration of traditional radio network data into tactical networks used by military communicators. Since the initial release of the Voyager TRIK, Klas Government has made enhancements to the classic Voyager 8 and has released a new battery-backed chassis and case, the Voyager 8 Plus, in order to support the increasing demand of integrating commonly used manpack and handheld tactical radios with higher power requirements. Klas has also integrated CISTECH Solutions’ software on the VoyagerEMm to complete a small form factor and rugged Radio over IP capability that’s compatible with the system. Some examples of commonly used tactical radios that can be integrated into the Voyager TRIK include:

• Silvus StreamCaster 4200
• Viasat BATS-D AN/PRC-161
• Persistent Systems MPU5
• L3Harris Falcon III AN/PRC-152A
• TrellisWare TW-950
• Thales AN/PRC-148 JEM

MajGen (Ret.) Mark Clark, USMC said, “Communications on the battlefield are critical to mission success across the spectrum from near peer competition, to gray zone conflict and humanitarian operations. The Voyager TRIK gives commanders better and more reliable communications. It gives units the size, weight power, simplicity, scalability and expeditionary requirements they seek and need, not only in a joint environment but in coalition and other governmental agencies as well. No mission or condition is too difficult for the Voyager TRIK.”

Tactical radios that are compatible with the Voyager TRIK fall into several categories:

• UHF/VHF radios from L3Harris and Thales
• Public Safety radios from Motorola
• MANET radios from Persistent Systems, Trellisware & Silvus
• ISR devices that include video feeds and Tactical Data Link from L3Harris, Viasat and Collins Aerospace

By incorporating each type of tactical radio into the Voyager TRIK, users can ingest data from disparate networks, analyze the data using Voyager network modules, and disseminate that data over Beyond Line-of-Sight and Line-of-Sight networks. This model has been recently adopted by PEO C3T in order to accomplish the ITN construct within Capability Set 21 and is being evaluated by all branches of the U.S. Military along with public safety organizations.

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Part no: VoyagerESR 2.0

Klas VoyagerESR 2.0

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Part Number: VoyagerESR 2.0

VoyagerESR 2.0 is the ultimate in Cisco hardware routing and switching in a single Voyager module.

Ideal as a WAN-services module or enclave router, VoyagerESR provides the reliability needed for the harshest environments.

Now available with Klas Voyager Ignition Key for increased security and simplified deployment.

The VoyagerESR 2.0, powered by Cisco’s ESR 6300 and ESS 3000, is NIAP CC certified.

Key Features

• Small form factor Cisco ESR6300 router and ESS 3300 switch in Voyager module format
• Cable free internal construction
• Both the ESR and ESS RTCs are battery backed
• 2 x Gigabit route ports available as either copper or SFP (order time option)
• 2 x 10 Gigabit SFP+ switch ports
• ESR: 3 x Gigabit Ethernet copper PoE+ enabled switch ports under Cisco IOS control
• ESS: 7 x Gigabit switch ports of which four are dual mode auto-selecting copper/SFP. Copper ports are PoE+ enabled and under Cisco IOS control
• Layer 2 switching features including: IEEE 802.1, 802.3 standard, NTP, UDLD, CDP, LLDP, unicast MAC filter, VTPv2, VTPv3, EtherChannel, voice VLAN, PVST+, MSTP, RSTP
• Voyager Ignition Key (VIK) support on the ESR
• Zeroize buttons to return the router and switch quickly to a declassified state
• Cisco IOS-XE software with support for Cisco SDWAN and Unified Communications
• High speed crypto acceleration

Click here to download datasheet from Klas.

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• The Contents
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• Where Are They Now
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• Q & A with Ed Stone

golden record

Where are they now.

• frequently asked questions
• Q&A with Ed Stone

Mission Status

Instrument status.

Where are the Voyagers now?

To learn more about Voyager, zoom in and give the spacecraft a spin. View the full interactive experience at Eyes on the Solar System . Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

View Voyager

Space Flight Operations Schedule (SFOS)

SFOS files showing Voyager activity on Deep Space Network (DSN)

2024 Tracking Schedule

2023 tracking schedule, 2022 tracking schedule, 2021 tracking schedule, 2020 tracking schedule, 2019 tracking schedule, 2018 tracking schedule, 2017 tracking schedule, 2016 tracking schedule, 2015 tracking schedule, 2014 tracking schedule, 2013 tracking schedule, 2012 tracking schedule, 2011 tracking schedule, 2010 tracking schedule, 2009 tracking schedule, 2008 tracking schedule, 2007 tracking schedule, 2006 tracking schedule, 2005 tracking schedule, 2004 tracking schedule, 2003 tracking schedule, 2002 tracking schedule, 2001 tracking schedule, 2000 tracking schedule, 1999 tracking schedule, 1998 tracking schedule, 1997 tracking schedule, 1996 tracking schedule, 1995 tracking schedule, 1994 tracking schedule.

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Ieee spectrum, follow ieee spectrum, support ieee spectrum, enjoy more free content and benefits by creating an account, saving articles to read later requires an ieee spectrum account, the institute content is only available for members, downloading full pdf issues is exclusive for ieee members, downloading this e-book is exclusive for ieee members, access to spectrum 's digital edition is exclusive for ieee members, following topics is a feature exclusive for ieee members, adding your response to an article requires an ieee spectrum account, create an account to access more content and features on ieee spectrum , including the ability to save articles to read later, download spectrum collections, and participate in conversations with readers and editors. for more exclusive content and features, consider joining ieee ., join the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences and get access to all of spectrum’s articles, archives, pdf downloads, and other benefits. learn more →, join the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences and get access to this e-book plus all of ieee spectrum’s articles, archives, pdf downloads, and other benefits. learn more →, access thousands of articles — completely free, create an account and get exclusive content and features: save articles, download collections, and talk to tech insiders — all free for full access and benefits, join ieee as a paying member., 50 years later, this apollo-era antenna still talks to voyager 2, dss-43 is the only antenna that can communicate with the probe.

The Deep Space Station 43 radio antenna, located at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex in Australia, keeps open the line of communication between humans and probes during NASA missions.

For more than 50 years, Deep Space Station 43 has been an invaluable tool for space probes as they explore our solar system and push into the beyond. The DSS-43 radio antenna, located at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex , near Canberra, Australia, keeps open the line of communication between humans and probes during NASA missions.

Today more than 40 percent of all data retrieved by celestial explorers, including Voyagers , New Horizons , and the Mars Curiosity rover , comes through DSS-43.

“As Australia’s largest antenna, DSS-43 has provided two-way communication with dozens of robotic spacecraft,” IEEE President-Elect Kathleen Kramer said during a ceremony where the antenna was recognized as an IEEE Milestone . It has supported missions, Kramer noted, “from the Apollo program and NASA’s Mars exploration rovers such as Spirit and Opportunity to the Voyagers’ grand tour of the solar system.

“In fact,” she said, “it is the only antenna remaining on Earth capable of communicating with Voyager 2 .”

Why NASA needed DSS-43

Maintaining two-way contact with spacecraft hurtling billions of kilometers away across the solar system is no mean feat. Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory , in Pasadena, Calif., knew that communication with distant space probes would require a dish antenna with unprecedented accuracy. In 1964 they built DSS-42—DSS-43’s predecessor—to support NASA’s Mariner 4 spacecraft as it performed the first-ever successful flyby of Mars in July 1965. The antenna had a 26-meter-diameter dish. Along with two other antennas at JPL and in Spain, DSS-42 obtained the first close-up images of Mars. DSS-42 was retired in 2000.

NASA engineers predicted that to carry out missions beyond Mars, the space agency needed more sensitive antennas. So in 1969 they began work on DSS-43, which has a 64-meter-diameter dish.

DSS-43 was brought online in December 1972—just in time to receive video and audio transmissions sent by Apollo 17 from the surface of the moon. It had greater reach and sensitivity than DSS-42 even after 42’s dish was upgraded in the early 1980s.

The gap between the two antennas’ capabilities widened in 1987, when DSS-43 was equipped with a 70-meter dish in anticipation of Voyager 2’s 1989 encounter with the planet Neptune.

DSS-43 has been indispensable in maintaining contact with the deep-space probe ever since.

The dish’s size isn’t its only remarkable feature. The dish’s manufacturer took great pains to ensure that its surface had no bumps or rough spots. The smoother the dish surface, the better it is at focusing incident waves onto the signal detector so there’s a higher signal-to-noise ratio.

DSS-43 boasts a pointing accuracy of 0.005 degrees (18 arc seconds)—which is important for ensuring that it is pointed directly at the receiver on a distant spacecraft. Voyager 2 broadcasts using a 23-watt radio. But by the time the signals traverse the multibillion-kilometer distance from the heliopause to Earth, their power has faded to a level 20 billion times weaker than what is needed to run a digital watch. Capturing every bit of the incident signals is crucial to gathering useful information from the transmissions.

The antenna has a transmitter capable of 400 kilowatts, with a beam width of 0.0038 degrees. Without the 1987 upgrade, signals sent from DSS-43 to a spacecraft venturing outside the solar system likely never would reach their target.

NASA’s Deep Space Network

The Canberra Deep Space Complex, where DSS-43 resides, is one of three such tracking stations operated by JPL. The other two are DSS-11 at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, Calif., and DSS-63 at the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex in Robledo de Chavela, Spain. Together, the facilities make up the Deep Space Network, which is the most sensitive scientific telecommunications system on the planet, according to NASA. At any given time, the network is tracking dozens of spacecraft carrying out scientific missions. The three facilities are spaced about 120 degrees longitude apart. The strategic placement ensures that as the Earth rotates, at least one of the antennas has a line of sight to an object being tracked, at least for those close to the plane of the solar system.

But DSS-43 is the only member of the trio that can maintain contact with Voyager 2 . Ever since its flyby of Neptune’s moon Triton in 1989, Voyager 2 has been on a trajectory below the plane of the planets, so that it no longer has a line of sight with any radio antennas in the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere.

To ensure that DSS-43 can still place the longest of long-distance calls, the antenna underwent a round of updates in 2020. A new X-band cone was installed. DSS-43 transmits radio signals in the X (8 to 12 gigahertz) and S (2 to 4 GHz) bands; it can receive signals in the X, S, L (1 to 2 GHz), and K (12 to 40 GHz) bands. The dish’s pointing accuracy also was tested and recertified.

Once the updates were completed, test commands were sent to Voyager 2. After about 37 hours, DSS-43 received a response from the space probe confirming it had received the call, and it executed the test commands with no issues.

DSS-43 is still relaying signals between Earth and Voyager 2, which passed the heliopause in 2018 and is now some 20 billion km from Earth.

Other important missions

DSS-43 has played a vital role in missions closer to Earth as well, including NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission. When the space agency sent Curiosity , a golf cart–size rover, to explore the Gale crater and Mount Sharp on Mars in 2011, DSS-43 tracked Curiosity as it made its nail-biting seven-minute descent into Mars’s atmosphere. It took roughly 20 minutes for radio signals to traverse the 320-million km distance between Mars and Earth, and then DSS-43 delivered the good news: The rover had landed safely and was operational.

“NASA plans to send future generations of astronauts from the Moon to Mars, and DSS-43 will play an important role as part of NASA’s Deep Space Network,” says Ambarish Natu , an IEEE senior member who is a past chair of the IEEE Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Section.

DSS-43 was honored with an IEEE Milestone in March during a ceremony held at the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex.

“This is the second IEEE Milestone recognition given in Australia, and the first for ACT,” Lance Fung , IEEE Region 10 director, said during the ceremony. A plaque recognizing the technology is now displayed at the complex. It reads:

First operational in 1972 and later upgraded in 1987, Deep Space Station 43 (DSS-43) is a steerable parabolic antenna that supported the Apollo 17 lunar mission, Viking Mars landers, Pioneer and Mariner planetary probes, and Voyager’s encounters with Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Planning for many robotic and human missions to explore the solar system and beyond has included DSS-43 for critical communications and tracking in NASA’s Deep Space Network.

Administered by the IEEE History Center and supported by donors, the Milestone program recognizes outstanding technical developments around the world. The IEEE Australian Capital Territory Section sponsored the nomination.

• Ethernet is Still Going Strong After 50 Years ›
• The Story Behind Pixar’s RenderMan CGI Software ›
• Deep Space Station 43 - Canberra Deep Space Communication ... ›

Willie Jones is an associate editor at IEEE Spectrum . In addition to editing and planning daily coverage, he manages several of Spectrum 's newsletters and contributes regularly to the monthly Big Picture section that appears in the print edition.

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Well, hello, Voyager 1! The venerable spacecraft is once again making sense

Nell Greenfieldboyce

Members of the Voyager team celebrate at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory after receiving data about the health and status of Voyager 1 for the first time in months. NASA/JPL-Caltech hide caption

Members of the Voyager team celebrate at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory after receiving data about the health and status of Voyager 1 for the first time in months.

NASA says it is once again able to get meaningful information back from the Voyager 1 probe, after months of troubleshooting a glitch that had this venerable spacecraft sending home messages that made no sense.

The Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes launched in 1977 on a mission to study Jupiter and Saturn but continued onward through the outer reaches of the solar system. In 2012, Voyager 1 became the first spacecraft to enter interstellar space, the previously unexplored region between the stars. (Its twin, traveling in a different direction, followed suit six years later.)

Voyager 1 had been faithfully sending back readings about this mysterious new environment for years — until November, when its messages suddenly became incoherent .

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is talking nonsense. Its friends on Earth are worried

It was a serious problem that had longtime Voyager scientists worried that this historic space mission wouldn't be able to recover. They'd hoped to be able to get precious readings from the spacecraft for at least a few more years, until its power ran out and its very last science instrument quit working.

For the last five months, a small team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California has been working to fix it. The team finally pinpointed the problem to a memory chip and figured out how to restore some essential software code.

"When the mission flight team heard back from the spacecraft on April 20, they saw that the modification worked: For the first time in five months, they have been able to check the health and status of the spacecraft," NASA stated in an update.

The usable data being returned so far concerns the workings of the spacecraft's engineering systems. In the coming weeks, the team will do more of this software repair work so that Voyager 1 will also be able to send science data, letting researchers once again see what the probe encounters as it journeys through interstellar space.

After a 12.3 billion-mile 'shout,' NASA regains full contact with Voyager 2

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Recoding voyager 1—nasa’s interstellar explorer is finally making sense again, "we're pretty much seeing everything we had hoped for, and that's always good news.”.

Stephen Clark - Apr 23, 2024 5:56 pm UTC

Engineers have partially restored a 1970s-era computer on NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft after five months of long-distance troubleshooting, building confidence that humanity's first interstellar probe can eventually resume normal operations.

Several dozen scientists and engineers gathered Saturday in a conference room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, or connected virtually, to wait for a new signal from Voyager 1. The ground team sent a command up to Voyager 1 on Thursday to recode part of the memory of the spacecraft's Flight Data Subsystem (FDS) , one of the probe's three computers.

“In the minutes leading up to when we were going to see a signal, you could have heard a pin drop in the room," said Linda Spilker, project scientist for NASA's two Voyager spacecraft at JPL. "It was quiet. People were looking very serious. They were looking at their computer screens. Each of the subsystem (engineers) had pages up that they were looking at, to watch as they would be populated."

Finally, a breakthrough

Launched nearly 47 years ago, Voyager 1 is flying on an outbound trajectory more than 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, and it takes 22-and-a-half hours for a radio signal to cover that distance at the speed of light. This means it takes nearly two days for engineers to uplink a command to Voyager 1 and get a response.

In November, Voyager 1 suddenly stopped transmitting its usual stream of data containing information about the spacecraft's health and measurements from its scientific instruments. Instead, the spacecraft's data stream was entirely unintelligible. Because the telemetry was unreadable, experts on the ground could not easily tell what went wrong. They hypothesized the source of the problem might be in the memory bank of the FDS.

There was a breakthrough last month when engineers sent up a novel command to "poke" Voyager 1's FDS to send back a readout of its memory. This readout allowed engineers to pinpoint the location of the problem in the FDS memory . The FDS is responsible for packaging engineering and scientific data for transmission to Earth.

After a few weeks, NASA was ready to uplink a solution to get the FDS to resume packing engineering data. This data stream includes information on the status of the spacecraft—things like power levels and temperature measurements. This command went up to Voyager 1 through one of NASA's large Deep Space Network antennas Thursday.

Then, the wait for a response. Spilker, who started working on Voyager right out of college in 1977, was in the room when Voyager 1's signal reached Earth Saturday.

"When the time came to get the signal, we could clearly see all of a sudden, boom, we had data, and there were tears and smiles and high fives," she told Ars. "Everyone was very happy and very excited to see that, hey, we're back in communication again with Voyager 1. We're going to see the status of the spacecraft, the health of the spacecraft, for the first time in five months."

Throughout the five months of troubleshooting, Voyager's ground team continued to receive signals indicating the spacecraft was still alive. But until Saturday, they lacked insight into specific details about the status of Voyager 1.

“It’s pretty much just the way we left it," Spilker said. "We're still in the initial phases of analyzing all of the channels and looking at their trends. Some of the temperatures went down a little bit with this period of time that's gone on, but we're pretty much seeing everything we had hoped for. And that's always good news.”

Relocating code

Through their investigation, Voyager's ground team discovered a single chip responsible for storing a portion of the FDS memory stopped working, probably due to either a cosmic ray hit or a failure of aging hardware. This affected some of the computer's software code.

"That took out a section of memory," Spilker said. "What they have to do is relocate that code into a different portion of the memory, and then make sure that anything that uses those codes, those subroutines, know to go to the new location of memory, for access and to run it."

Only about 3 percent of the FDS memory was corrupted by the bad chip, so engineers needed to transplant that code into another part of the memory bank. But no single location is large enough to hold the section of code in its entirety, NASA said.

So the Voyager team divided the code into sections for storage in different places in the FDS. This wasn't just a copy-and-paste job. Engineers needed to modify some of the code to make sure it will all work together. "Any references to the location of that code in other parts of the FDS memory needed to be updated as well," NASA said in a statement.

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April 22, 2024

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NASA's Voyager 1 resumes sending engineering updates to Earth

For the first time since November, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems. The next step is to enable the spacecraft to begin returning science data again. The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft to ever fly in interstellar space (the space between stars).

Voyager 1 stopped sending readable science and engineering data back to Earth on Nov. 14, 2023, even though mission controllers could tell the spacecraft was still receiving their commands and otherwise operating normally. In March, the Voyager engineering team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed that the issue was tied to one of the spacecraft's three onboard computers, called the flight data subsystem (FDS). The FDS is responsible for packaging the science and engineering data before it's sent to Earth.

The team discovered that a single chip responsible for storing a portion of the FDS memory—including some of the FDS computer's software code—isn't working. The loss of that code rendered the science and engineering data unusable. Unable to repair the chip, the team decided to place the affected code elsewhere in the FDS memory. But no single location is large enough to hold the section of code in its entirety.

So they devised a plan to divide the affected code into sections and store those sections in different places in the FDS. To make this plan work, they also needed to adjust those code sections to ensure, for example, that they all still function as a whole. Any references to the location of that code in other parts of the FDS memory needed to be updated as well.

The team started by singling out the code responsible for packaging the spacecraft's engineering data. They sent it to its new location in the FDS memory on April 18. A radio signal takes about 22.5 hours to reach Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, and another 22.5 hours for a signal to come back to Earth. When the mission flight team heard back from the spacecraft on April 20, they saw that the modification had worked: For the first time in five months, they were able to check the health and status of the spacecraft.

During the coming weeks, the team will relocate and adjust the other affected portions of the FDS software. These include the portions that will start returning science data.

Voyager 2 continues to operate normally. Launched over 46 years ago, the twin Voyager spacecraft are the longest-running and most distant spacecraft in history. Before the start of their interstellar exploration, both probes flew by Saturn and Jupiter, and Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and Neptune.

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