Last week, ground controllers sent commands to fire backup thrusters on Voyager
1, our most distant spacecraft. The thrusters had been idle for 37 years, since
Voyager 1 flew past Saturn.
degrading. The thrusters will take over pointing operations next month.
Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 is the only spacecraft traveling through
interstellar space, the region beyond our solar system. Voyager 2 is close on
its heels. The thruster test worked so well that NASA expects to try it on
Voyager 2.