JPL techies keep finding ingenious ways to keep alive the two Voyager probes, after 48 years. An impressive example of multi-generational human competence and a reminder that the scions of chippers-of-flint-arrowheads remain admirable and much-needed.
https://gizmodo.com/nasa-revives-voyager-thrusters-considered-dead-for-20-years-2000603287
https://gizmodo.com/nasa-revives-voyager-thrusters-considered-dead-for-20-years-2000603287
Comments
If innovating was done by anti-vaxxers and god believers, there wouldn't even be kites.
If the heater on the primary thruster propellant line wasn't working, firing the thrusters could've of been the end of Voyager 1.
Everything now is a bonus.
This was their best shot getting Voyager 1 past that downtime period.
If they failed, they'd've only lost a few months.🤷