On April 18, the team in charge of Voyager 1’s malfunctioning code devised a plan to split the affected code into sections and store them in different locations within the FDS. In order for this plan to be successful, they had to ensure that each section still functioned properly as a whole and updated any references to their location in other parts of the FDS memory.
The first step in this plan was to identify the code responsible for packaging the spacecraft’s engineering data. This code was then sent to its new location in the FDS memory on April 18. Since radio signals take approximately 22 ½ hours to reach Voyager 1 from Earth, and another 22 ½ hours for a signal to return, the team had to wait until April 20 to receive feedback from the spacecraft.
Fortunately, when the mission flight team received feedback from Voyager 1 on April 20, they found that the modification had worked. This meant that for the first time in five months, they were able to check the health and status of the spacecraft, a crucial step in ensuring the mission’s success.
