Brief
Voyager 1 regains contact after two‑day silence, NASA investigates
The probe, now 16 billion miles from Earth, resumed communication on Oct 20 after a two‑day outage, prompting a NASA investigation.
By Felo News Desk · Published
NASA’s Voyager 1, the agency’s farthest spacecraft, experienced an unexpected two‑day communication outage on Oct 18‑19, 2026, before re‑establishing contact on Oct 20, according to Mashable.
What happened
Deep Space Network stations did not receive the scheduled check‑in signals from Voyager 1 on Oct 18 or Oct 19. The spacecraft, now traveling beyond the solar system at about 38,000 mph and roughly 16.09 billion miles (one light‑day) from Earth, remained silent for two days. On Oct 20, the probe transmitted a signal back to mission control, ending the outage.
What the report adds
Mashable notes that engineers have identified a shutdown of one set of Voyager 1’s thrusters, which forced the backup thrusters to assume control. The thrusters are small engines that orient the spacecraft; the onboard computers automatically switch to the backup set when a fault is detected. The article also mentions that Voyager 1’s plutonium power source loses about four watts of power each year, leading to the recent shutdown of two science instruments to conserve energy.
What was said
"This is the first time we've seen the spacecraft do something like this, but we are also at a point in the mission where we have to expect the unexpected," said Kareem Badaruddin, Voyager mission manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in a statement reported by Mashable. "We're relieved to be back in contact with Voyager 1 and are eager to understand what happened."
How it came about
Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 to explore the outer planets and has since become the most distant human‑made object. Its twin, Voyager 2, continues a parallel journey. The recent outage adds to a series of signs that the decades‑long mission is winding down, as the spacecraft’s power output declines and instrument usage is reduced. The probe is expected to reach the historic milestone of one light‑day from Earth on Nov 18, 2026.
Key facts
- Voyager 1 missed scheduled check‑ins on Oct 18‑19, 2026. (mashable.com)
- Contact was re‑established on Oct 20, 2026. (mashable.com)
- One set of thrusters shut down, activating the backup thrusters. (mashable.com)
- The spacecraft is about 16.09 billion miles from Earth, a light‑day away. (mashable.com)
- Voyager 1’s power source loses roughly four watts per year, prompting instrument shutdowns. (mashable.com)
Sources
- [1] mashable.com — originally reported as “NASA's Voyager 1 mysteriously lost touch with Earth”
