XPost: sci.misc

47-year-old Voyager 1 spacecraft just fired up thrusters it hasn't
used in decades
...
...
Earlier this year, engineers spotted an issue when the fuel tube
inside one of Voyager's thrusters became clogged. If the thrusters are
clogged, they can't generate as much force to keep the spacecraft
steady. Voyager's thrusters keep the spacecraft oriented in a way that
it can communicate with Earth.

If Voyager 1 isn't positioned in such a way so that its antenna is
pointed at Earth, the spacecraft can't "hear" commands from mission
control or send back data, according to Calla Cofield, media relations specialist at JPL.

"If the thrusters that keep the antenna pointed at Earth get clogged,
that would be end of mission," she said.

The team realized it would have to send commands to the spacecraft to
switch to another set of thrusters, but the fix wouldn't be a simple
one.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/16/science/voyager-1-thruster-issue/index.html

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