NASA suspends deployment of solar panels for Lucy mission

task team Lucy affiliate Container I decided Lay off the activities from Designation from solar panelas it continues to advance in its expected path towards the Trojan asteroids Mars.

The team decided to run Expedition with the Team Solar In the current state of opening holds a acceptable level of riskand that additional publishing activities are unlikely to be useful at this time.

Shortly after its launch in October 2021, the mission team realized that one of them Solar Panels from Lucy It is not detected and handled properly. A series of activities carried out in the year 2022 further expose the group, keeping them on edge, but open.

Utilization Models from Geometry calibration From the spacecraft’s data, the team estimates that the solar array is more than 98% exposed, and that it is strong enough to withstand tensions affiliate Expedition He’s 12 Lucy.

Team confidence in stability solar panel It is confirmed by his behavior during flew by Close Earth On October 16, 2022, when the spacecraft flew 392 kilometers from Earthacross the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The solar array produces the expected power level in the current solar range and is expected to have sufficient capacity to perform the primary task by a margin.

The team decided Lay off tries to Designation After trying on 13th Dec 2022 it produced only small movement in he sat Solar. Ground tests indicated that deployment attempts were over productive When the ship was warmer, closer to sun. Since the spacecraft is currently 197 million km from the Sun (1.3 times farther than… Earth) and reach speeds of 35,000 km/h. The team does not expect any further attempts Designation Be useful under the current circumstances, informs Container.

thanks for the energy boost obtained during Gravity assist Earth last October, the spacecraft is now in an orbit that will take it far sun More than 500 million kilometers before returning to Earth for a second Gravity assist Ground on December 12, 2024.

Over the next year and a half, the team will continue to collect data on Behavior he sat Solar during the airline. Above all, the team will monitor how the array behaves during a maneuver in February 2024, when the spacecraft launches. prime mover for the first time. When the spacecraft heats up as it approaches Earth In fall 2024, the team will reassess whether additional steps are needed Reduce risk.

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