UT video discussing the Lucy mission.
Those operations consist of shooting test thrusters, though the probe itself is still running in a “safe mode.” In spite of the hiccup with the photovoltaic panel, the objective group chose to go on with a transition to “cruise” mode today, which will begin the crafts journey towards Jupiters orbit.
On the method, they will continue trying to understand what went wrong and even repair the issue. TCM-1 wasnt needed as the ULA rocket the craft had actually hitched a trip in release Lucy exactly where it required to go.
Graphic revealing Lucys orbit.Credit– Southwest Research Institute.
With luck, the jobs engineers will find a method to fix the panel throughout Lucys lonely voyage out to the Trojans. Alternatively, if the spacecraft is still running within parameters regardless of not having actually a totally deployed panel, that could work too. The other aspect of engineering probes for space expedition is theres a great deal of redundancy and over-specification, so even if it does not work perfectly, researchers ought to still get the data theyve been awaiting in a few years.
Find out more: NASA– Lucy Spacecraft Healthy; Solar Arrays Being AnalyzedNASA– NASA Team Remains Focused on Lucys Solar ArraysSpace.com– NASA eyes solar variety glitch on brand-new Lucy asteroid spacecraftArs Technica– Lucys solar panel hasnt locked– a problem for a mission powered by the Sun.
Lead Image: Lucy with its solar panels entirely released on the ground.Credit– Lockheed Martin.
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Lucy, released successfully by a ULA rocket on October 16th, seems to have a solar panel that didnt quite “lock.”.
The mission to check out Jupiters Trojan asteroids appears to be practical, with practically optimal power outputs from its two solar arrays. Nevertheless, engineers observed that they hadnt gotten a “latched” signal from one of them, making them think the selection did not fully deploy. Regardless of that, it is producing enough power to run the spacecraft generally..
As were fond of saying here at UT, area exploration is hard. Lots of things can fail when introducing countless kgs of extremely crafted devices that took years to become space. Now, something appears to have gone wrong with NASAs most current Discovery mission. Lucy, launched successfully by a ULA rocket on October 16th, seems to have a solar panel that didnt quite “latch.”.
On the method, they will continue attempting to understand what went wrong and even fix the issue. For now, the mission continues apace, with a major maneuver called the Trajectory Correction Maneuver-2 (TCM-2) prepared in early December. TCM-1 wasnt needed as the ULA rocket the craft had hitched a flight in release Lucy precisely where it required to go.