Lucy spacecraft artist’s imagination in Trojan asteroids. Credit: NASA
NASAOne step is to launch the first mission to explore Trojan asteroids. The Lucy Mission of the Discovery Program has crossed a crucial goal and is officially authorized to transition to its next stage.
This major decision has been made after a series of independent reviews of the state of the spacecraft, equipment, timetable and budget. This landmark, known as Key Decision Point-D (KDP-D), represents the official transition from the development stage of the mission to the delivery, testing, assembly and integration of components. During this part of the life cycle of the mission, known as Phase D, the spacecraft bus (the structure that will carry the science instruments) is completed, the devices are integrated into the spacecraft and tested, and the spacecraft is sent to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. For integration with the launch vehicle in Florida.
“Each phase of the mission is more exciting than the last,” said Lucy Principal Investigator Hale Levison, CO of Boulder’s Southwest Research Institute. Says, “While, of course, Lucy still has many years and a few billion miles left before we arrive. Our real goal – to explore the never-to-be-seen Trojan asteroids – is simply incredible to see this spacecraft together.”
Engineers install Lucy’s oxygen oxygen propellant tank in the spacecraft structure in Leah Kheid Martin’s low-lying clean room. Credit: Lockheed Martin Space
Despite many unforeseen challenges to the coronavirus epidemic, the list of Assembly, Testing and Start Operations (ATLO) at Littleton, Lockheed Martin Space, Colorado began last week. The schedule was revised which was delayed to allow the integration of subsequent components COVID-19 Restrictions.
“The team has been really incredible,” says Donya Douglas-Bradshaw, Lucy’s project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Building a spacecraft is never easy, but it is inspiring to face all the challenges that the team has to face. We now have the spacecraft structure in Lockheed Martin High Bay and a team ready to install those devices and components. ”
The Ox oxidizer tank is already integrated with the spacecraft, and equipment integration begins in October. All spacecraft assembly and testing will be completed by the end of July 2021, while the spacecraft will be sent to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in preparation for the opening window launch on October 16, 2021. The long cruise phase before it reaches its first destination. Lucy is flying for the distance Jupiter The first of eight targets in April 2025 and the final binary pair of asteroids in March 2033 to face the record-breaking number of asteroids near fly-bys.
The next major targets are the Mission Operations Review, scheduled for October-October 2020, which evaluates the project’s operational readiness and progress towards launch.
The Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado is the lead investigative body for Lucy. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland ensures overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission. Leheid Kahid Martin near Denver is building the spacecraft and will operate the spacecraft’s flight. Instruments will be provided by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Gardard, Maryland and Maryland, and at the University of Arizona State University.
