NASA’s space probe Lucy was designed to be the first mission to the Trojan asteroids that transfer alongside Jupiter’s asteroid. The probe launched efficiently in October, 2021, however it virtually instantly bumped into an sudden drawback. Data from the probe indicated that certainly one of the solar arrays powering it, designed to unfurl like a hand fan, had not totally opened. The $981 million Lucy space mission is geared toward discovering a few of the very important clues that may assist in deciphering the very important clues of the formation of the solar system. A NASA press assertion reveals how mission engineers have been in a position to diagnose and resolve the drawback.
When the drawback with Lucy was recognized quickly after launch, groups from NASA and mission companions received collectively to troubleshoot. It was not straightforward. Scientists scrambled to know what may probably be completed to resolve it as the spacecraft sped its approach by space.
In the subsequent few hours, NASA received collectively Lucy’s anomaly response staff, which comprised of members from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), NASA’, spacecraft builder Lockheed Martin and the solar array system designer and builder Northrop Grumman.
Over a interval of some days, the staff labored by its choices. They fired Lucy’s thrusters and gathered knowledge on how the thrust power made the solar array vibrate to judge the array’s configuration in real-time. They then took this knowledge and fed it into an in depth mannequin of the array’s motor meeting to know how inflexible Lucy’s array was. This helped uncover the supply of the subject.
They had lastly discovered the supply of the drawback: a lanyard designed to drag Lucy’s enormous solar array open was doubtless snarled on its spool. But now, they wanted to determine how you can repair the subject. It took months of brainstorming and testing earlier than the Lucy groups settled on two potential options.
A diagram of Lucy’s orbital map. (Image credit score: Southwest Research Institute)
One potential path ahead concerned pulling tougher on the lanyard utilizing the array’s backup deployment motor in addition to the major motor. In principle, the energy from each motors ought to enable the jammed lanyard to wind in additional and have interaction the array’s latching mechanism. Even although each motors have been by no means supposed to function at the similar time, the staff used fashions to make positive that the idea would work.
The second choice was far less complicated. That was to proceed utilizing the array the similar approach it was working given it was almost totally deployed and producing greater than 90 per cent of its anticipated energy. While this will look like a greater choice at the outset, it ran the threat of the mission not with the ability to obtain its baseline targets.
The staff analysed hours of the array’s take a look at footage and constructed a ground-based duplicate of the array’s motor meeting to check it previous its limits to raised perceive the dangers concerned. Also, they developed particular high-fidelity software program to simulate Lucy in space and gauge any potential ripple results a redeployment try may have on the spacecraft.
After going by months of simulations and testing, NASA determined to go ahead with the first choice. The staff commanded the spacecraft to concurrently run the major and backup solar array deployment motors on seven events in May and June. The efforts have been a success and the motors collectively pulled the lanyard, opening and tensioning the array.
Lucy groups estimate that the probe’s array is between 353 levels and 357 levels open (out of the 360 whole levels required for a completely developed array). According to the estimates, the array is secure sufficient to function as wanted for mission operations. Lucy is now prepared to finish its subsequent mission milestone: an Earth-gravity help in October 2022. The probe will arrive at its first asteroid goal in 2025.