NASA's Lucy mission team has decided to suspend further solar array deployment activities. The team determined that operating the mission with the solar array in the current unlatched state carries an acceptable level of risk and further deployment activities are unlikely to be beneficial at this time. The spacecraft continues to make progress along its …
UPDATE AS OF DECEMBER 15, 2022: The Lucy team updated the spacecraft's attitude controller on Dec. 6, resolving the previously observed vibration interaction between the controller and the solar array structural modes. As previously reported, the vibration was too small to pose a risk and the spacecraft continues to operate safely. The team resumed solar …
From May 6 to June 16, NASA's Lucy mission team carried out a multi-stage effort intended to further deploy the spacecraft's unlatched solar array. The team commanded the spacecraft to operate the array's deployment motor for limited periods of time, allowing them to closely monitor the response of the spacecraft. As a result of this …
UPDATE AS OF JUNE 20, 2022: The Lucy team executed another deployment attempt on June 16. Although there was still no latch, the attempt reeled in additional lanyard and further stabilized the array. Future opportunities still exist to repeat the deployment commands if necessary. ————————- UPDATE AS OF JUNE 14, 2022: The Lucy team executed …
On May 9, NASA's Lucy team executed the first of two planned steps in its efforts to complete the deployment of the spacecraft's unlatched solar array. This first step was time-limited and was intended to validate that the team's ground testing adequately represented the flight system's performance, rather than to latch the solar array. Analysis …
On April 18, NASA decided to move forward with plans to complete the deployment of the Lucy spacecraft's stalled, unlatched solar array. The spacecraft is powered by two large arrays of solar cells that were designed to unfold and latch into place after launch. One of the fan-like arrays opened as planned, but the other …
The Lucy spacecraft, launched on Oct. 16, 2021, is now over 30 million miles, or 48 million kilometers, from Earth and continues to operate safely in "outbound cruise" mode. Besides a solar array that didn't latch after deployment — an issue the mission team is working to resolve— all spacecraft systems are normal. The arrays …
NASA plans to conduct additional ground tests on an engineering model of the Lucy solar array motor and lanyard prior to potentially attempting full deployment of one of the probe's solar arrays. A project team completed an assessment Dec. 1 of the ongoing solar array issue, which did not appear to fully deploy as planned …
NASA's Lucy spacecraft continues to operate in cruise mode – the standard mode for its orbit away from Earth. Checkouts for the Lucy instruments were successfully completed Nov. 8, and all instruments are working normally. Following checkout completion, the instruments were powered off, and the remaining spacecraft subsystem commissioning activities are continuing as scheduled. Lucy's …
The Lucy spacecraft continues to operate in cruise mode – the standard mode for outbound orbit. The team has begun turning on instruments. L'TES and L'Ralph have been powered on and are working normally. Turning on L'LORRI is scheduled for Nov. 8, 2021. Other than the solar array, all subsystems continue to work normally. The …
