The action group continues its analysis on utilizing the solar selection in its present configuration and how that might affect upcoming spacecraft maneuvers.
Lucy will explore the Jupiter Trojan asteroids– believed to be “fossils of world formation.” Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center
The Lucy spacecraft continues to operate in cruise mode– the standard mode for outbound orbit. The group has started switching on instruments. LTES and LRalph have actually been powered on and are working usually. Switching on LLORRI is set up for November 8, 2021. Besides the solar array, all subsystems continue to work normally.
The joint Anomaly Response Team has been studying the variety utilizing an engineering model. Initial tests show that the lanyard that takes out the solar range might not have completed the process effectively; nevertheless, it is still unpredictable what triggered this condition. The team is performing more tests to identify if this is indeed the case, and what the root cause may be.
An attempt to identify the selection implementation by trying to move it would occur no earlier than November 16.
By NASA
November 5, 2021