Launched on October 16, 2021, Lucy is the very first area objective that will check out the Trojan asteroids. These are a population of small bodies that are left over from the development of the planetary system. They lead or follow Jupiter in their orbit around the Sun, and might tell us about the origins of natural products in the world. Lucy will zip and perform remote picking up on six various Trojan asteroids and will study surface area geology, surface color, and structure, asteroid interiors/bulk properties, and will take a look at the satellites and rings of the Trojans. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight
The solar array was created with both a primary and a backup motor winding to provide an added layer of dependability for the mission-critical solar variety release. Lucy engineers will take benefit of this redundancy by using both motors all at once to generate higher torque than was used on the day of launch. Ground tests show that this included torque might be enough to pull the snarled lanyard the staying range required to latch.
Lucy will check out the Jupiter Trojan asteroids– believed to be “fossils of world development.” Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight
The group is now preparing to complete the solar array implementation in two actions. Because this step is created to be restricted in duration, the variety is not most likely to lock at that point.
If this action goes as prepared, the 2nd step will continue the range implementation with the intent to totally latch. Info gleaned from the first part will help fine-tune the second. The second step is currently prepared for a month after the initial one, providing engineers enough time to evaluate the information seen in the very first effort.
The big solar arrays on the Lucy spacecraft were developed to unfold and latch into place after launch. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight
On April 18, 2022, NASA chose to move forward with plans to finish the release of the Lucy spacecrafts stalled, unlatched solar variety. The spacecraft is powered by two large selections of solar batteries that were designed to unfold and latch into location after launch. One of the fan-like selections opened as planned, but the other stopped simply except completing this operation.
Through a mix of extensive in-flight solar variety characterization and ground testing, Lucy engineers determined the unlatched solar array is nearly completely open, located at approximately 345 out of the full 360 degrees, and is producing adequate energy for the spacecraft. However, the group is worried about potential damage to the range if the spacecraft carries out a primary engine burn in its present configuration.
After launch, the selections were opened by a small motor that attracts a lanyard connected to both ends of the folded solar range. The team approximates that 20 to 40 inches of this lanyard (out of approximately 290 inches total) remain to be retracted for the open range to lock.
On April 18, 2022, NASA decided to move forward with strategies to complete the implementation of the Lucy spacecrafts stalled, unlatched solar array. The spacecraft is powered by two large selections of solar cells that were designed to unfold and latch into place after launch. The solar variety was developed with both a primary and a backup motor winding to provide an included layer of dependability for the mission-critical solar range release. The group is now preparing to complete the solar array implementation in 2 actions.