Editing Voyager 1 (section)

=== Concerns with the orientation thrusters ===
Some [[Spacecraft propulsion|thrusters]] needed to control the attitude of the spacecraft and point its high-gain antenna in the direction of Earth are out of use due to clogging problems in their [[hydrazine]] lines. The spacecraft no longer has a backup available for its thruster system and "everything onboard is single-string," according to Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager at JPL, in an interview with ''[[Ars Technica]]''.<ref name="clark-2023">{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Stephen |date=October 24, 2023 |title=NASA wants the Voyagers to age gracefully, so it's time for a software patch |url=https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/10/nasa-wants-the-voyagers-to-age-gracefully-so-its-time-for-a-software-patch/ |access-date=October 27, 2023 |website=Ars Technica |archive-date=October 27, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027215228/https://arstechnica.com/space/2023/10/nasa-wants-the-voyagers-to-age-gracefully-so-its-time-for-a-software-patch/ |url-status=live }}</ref> NASA has accordingly decided to modify the spacecraft's computer software in order to reduce the rate at which the hydrazine lines clog. NASA will first deploy the modified software on ''Voyager 2'', which is less distant from Earth, before deploying it on ''Voyager 1''.<ref name="clark-2023" />

In September 2024, NASA performed a "thruster swap", switching from a clogged set of thrusters to less clogged ones that had not been used since 2018.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rabie |first1=Passant |title=NASA Pulls Off Delicate Thruster Swap, Keeping Voyager 1 Mission Alive |url=https://gizmodo.com/nasa-pulls-off-delicate-thruster-swap-keeping-voyager-1-mission-alive-2000497434 |website=Gizmodo |access-date=26 September 2024 |date=11 September 2024}}</ref>