NASA loses contact with deep space satellite — the results could be costly

Somebody really spaced out on this one.

NASA has lost contact with its deep space, Voyager 2 satellite after giving the unmanned module an incorrect command two weeks ago, the Associated Press reported.

On Tuesday, it was announced NASA had only first heard back from the vessel when a “heartbeat signal” was picked up by deep space network antennas massively positioned throughout Earth.

Learning that Voyager 2 — launched in 1977 to flyby our solar system’s outer, jovian planets — “buoyed our spirits” at NASA, project manager Suzanne Dodd wrote in an email to the AP said.

It’s now on flight controllers at NASA’s California-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California to attempt spinning Voyager 2’s antenna — off kilter by an impactful 2% — so it can face the Earth again to better receive signals.

If unsuccessful, NASA doesn’t have high hopes at the moment, the only other option is an automatic spacecraft reset scheduled for October.

“That is a long time to wait, so we’ll try sending up commands several times” prior, Dodd added.

Still, NASA is approaching the situation with a sense of humor by sharing social media posts from the interstellar satellite’s twin companion, Voyager 1.

“You might have heard… Voyager 2 is taking a break from sending data until October. In the meantime, I’m out here, almost 15 billion miles (24 billion km) from Earth and doing fine! – V1.”