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NASA’s Voyager 1 Experiences “Unexpected” Problems Engineers Have Never Seen Before as New Historic Milestone Approaches

The Debrief • November 4, 2026 • science

Key Points:

On November 18, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is expected to reach a distance of about 16.09 billion miles from Earth, equivalent to one light-day, marking a significant milestone in its journey beyond the Solar System.
Voyager 1 has faced recent technical challenges, including a temporary loss of communication in October and a malfunction in one of its thrusters, which caused the spacecraft to switch to backup thrusters.
Engineers successfully completed a power-saving operation called the “Big Bang,” replacing three high-energy-consuming devices with lower power alternatives to extend the spacecraft’s operational life potentially until summer 2027.
Communication with Voyager 1 will take 24 hours each way due to the vast distance, meaning a message sent from Earth will require two days to receive a response from the spacecraft.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 continues to travel through interstellar space at about 38,000 miles per hour, gathering unique scientific data beyond the Sun’s heliosphere, showcasing the mission’s remarkable longevity and distance traveled.

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