Shortly after Lucy introduced, one of its solar arrays failed to totally release, putting the objective at risk.NASAs Lucy objective is heading to the Jupiter Trojans, 2 swarms of asteroids trapped in Jupiters orbit. For months, the flight operations group worked to address the issue– enabling Lucy to continue its journey to the Jupiter Trojans.This artists concept animation depicts Lucys solar range anomaly.Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
Shortly after the spacecrafts October 2021 launch, the mission team realized that one of Lucys 2 solar arrays had not properly unfurled and locked. Using engineering designs adjusted by spacecraft information, the group estimates that the solar variety is over 98% deployed, and it is strong enough to withstand the stresses of Lucys 12-year objective.
Soon after Lucy released, one of its solar arrays failed to fully release, putting the objective at risk.NASAs Lucy objective is heading to the Jupiter Trojans, 2 swarms of asteroids trapped in Jupiters orbit. For months, the flight operations team worked to address the issue– enabling Lucy to continue its journey to the Jupiter Trojans.This artists idea animation illustrates Lucys solar range anomaly.Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
NASAs Lucy objective group has decided to suspend more solar selection implementation activities. The team figured out that running the objective with the solar selection in the present unlatched state brings an appropriate level of threat and further implementation activities are unlikely to be beneficial at this time. The spacecraft continues to make development along its organized trajectory.
Shortly after the spacecrafts October 2021 launch, the mission team understood that one of Lucys two solar varieties had not appropriately unfurled and locked. A series of activities in 2022 prospered in further deploying the array, putting it into a tensioned, but unlatched, state. Utilizing engineering designs adjusted by spacecraft information, the group approximates that the solar array is over 98% deployed, and it is strong enough to hold up against the stresses of Lucys 12-year objective.
The teams self-confidence in the stability of the solar array was affirmed by its habits during the close flyby of the Earth on October 16, 2022, when the spacecraft flew within 243 miles (392 km) of the Earth, through the Earths upper environment. The solar array is producing the expected level of power at the present solar variety and is expected to have enough capability to perform the standard objective with margin.
Lucy will explore the Jupiter Trojan asteroids– believed to be “fossils of world formation.” Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center
The team chosen to suspend deployment attempts after the effort on December 13, 2022, produced just little motion in the solar range. Ground-based testing showed that the deployment attempts were most productive while the spacecraft was warmer, closer to the Sun. As the spacecraft is presently 123 million miles (197 million km) from the Sun (1.3 times farther from the Sun than the Earth) and moving away at 20,000 mph (35,000 km/hr), the group does not anticipate additional implementation efforts to be advantageous under present conditions.
Due to the energy increase that the spacecraft received during last Octobers Earth gravity assist, the spacecraft is now on an orbit that will take it over 315 million miles (500 million km) from the Sun prior to going back to Earth for a second Earth gravity help on December 12, 2024. Over the next year and a half, the group will continue to collect information on how the solar selection behaves throughout flight. Many significantly, the team will observe how the range acts throughout a maneuver in February 2024, when the spacecraft operates its main engine for the very first time. As the spacecraft heats up during its technique to Earth in the fall of 2024, the group will re-evaluate if extra steps to minimize risk will be needed.
