NASA hears signal from Voyager 2 after days of silence

NASA has heard a signal from Voyager 2 billions of miles away following days of silence after flight controllers sent the wrong command nearly two weeks ago, cutting off the spacecraft’s communications with Earth.

NASA’s Deep Space Network, an array of giant radio antennas across the world, detected a “heartbeat signal,” indicating the spacecraft is alive and working, project manager Suzanne Dodd told The Associated Press in an email.

Voyager 2 is more than 12.3 billion miles from Earth, according to NASA. The wrong command on July 21 caused the attendant to point 2 degrees from Earth, taking away its ability to receive commands or transit data back to Earth. 

Dodd said the signal “buoyed our spirits,” as flight controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California are now attempting to turn Voyager 2’s antenna back towards Earth. If this does not work — and controllers doubt it will — operators will have to wait for its program to reset its orientation on Oct. 15, which should resume communications. NASA previously said it expects the nearly 46-year-old craft to stay on its planned trajectory in the meantime. 

Voyager 1, almost 15 billion miles from Earth, is still operating normally, according to NASA. 

Voyager 2 was launched on Aug. 20, 1977, weeks before Voyager 1 was launched into space on Sept. 5, 1977, to find and study the solar system’s edge, according to NASA.

The Hill has reached out to NASA for comment.