"Voyager Team's Software Patch and Thruster Focus: NASA's Latest Endeavor"

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Source: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
"Voyager Team's Software Patch and Thruster Focus: NASA's Latest Endeavor"
Photo: NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
TL;DR

NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft are receiving a software patch to address issues with their thrusters and onboard computer. The thrusters, used to keep the spacecraft antennas pointed at Earth, have been experiencing a gradual buildup of material over decades. To slow this buildup, the spacecraft will rotate slightly farther before firing the thrusters. The software patch aims to prevent garbled status reports and protect the probes' operations in the future. The Voyager missions, originally scheduled for four years, have extended to explore Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and beyond the heliosphere.

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