The ISEE-3 Reboot Project announced that the team succeeded in establishing two-way communication with the ISEE-3 (International Sun / Earth Explorer 3) space probe, also known as ICE (International Cometary Explorer). In the coming days they’ll assess the state of operation of the various systems of this probe that now is 36 years old. This is necessary to understand the best way to try to reactivate its engines and bring it to an orbit near the Earth, the same it left more than thirty years ago.

The ISEE-3 Reboot Project became operational on May 21, when it had received official permission from NASA to take possession of the old ISEE-3 space probe. A problem that delayed the start of operations was due to the need to obtain a permit from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to send signals to the probe via the team’s transmitter.

It’s not just a bureaucratic problem: the transmitter has a power that can potentially cause damage to some satellites and other space probes that may be on the path of the transmission. The distance of the ISEE-3 space probe makes that level of power necessary but this means that the team can transmit only when there are no vulnerable satellites on the trajectory. Eventually, the ISEE-3 Reboot Project team received a permit until May 31 and after that date NASA, which owns the probe, must apply for a new permit.

In recent days, the project team was able to establish contact with the ISEE-3 space probe at the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico. Subsequently, the probe’s transmissions were received by other stations that collaborate with the project. This has given the opportunity to command to the probe to send telemetry data. Those are the ones needed for the team to understand the state of the operation of the instruments and especially the engines.

The really hard part for the ISEE-3 Reboot Project will begin in the next few days. The team may have only one chance to direct the probe into a new orbit. If they can control it, they can start thinking about a new mission. The first responses should arrive around mid-June.

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