Bad news! NASA loses contact with iconic Voyager 2 spacecraft

tech.hindustantimes.com:

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) faces a temporary communication challenge with its intrepid spacecraft, Voyager 2, as it continues its interstellar journey between stars. The issue arises from an inadvertent misalignment of the antenna, rendering the spacecraft unable to receive commands or transmit data back to Earth. Despite this setback, NASA remains optimistic about resolving the problem during the next scheduled orientation reset in October. Voyager 2, a testament to human engineering and exploration, stands as one of the most distant artificial object in space, second only to its predecessor, Voyager 1.

The anomaly occurred on July 21 when a series of planned commands inadvertently caused Voyager 2's antenna to shift 2 degrees away from its intended position towards Earth. Consequently, the spacecraft temporarily lost its communication capabilities with mission control, as conveyed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in a statement released on Friday.

Fortunately, Voyager 2 is designed to undergo regular orientation resets throughout the year, realigning its antenna with Earth. The forthcoming reset, scheduled for October 15, is expected to re-establish communication with the spacecraft.

During this period of communication silence, the mission team has full confidence that Voyager 2 will maintain its intended trajectory as planned, as stated in the JPL's release.

Voyager 2, launched on August 20, 1977, has traveled an astonishing distance of over 19.9 billion kilometers from Earth, placing it in the region between our Sun's heliosphere and the astrospheres of other stars, known as interstellar space. In this vast expanse, it became the second human-made object to venture between stars,