Lucy engineers again attempt to complete deployment of solar array
Artist’s impression of solar panel
On November 7, 2022, the Lucy science team made another attempt to complete the deployment of one of the spacecraft’s two solar arrays, as shown in the graphic to the right. After launch that array failed to deploy properly, and though later attempts have gotten it mostly open, it has not latched tight.
On Monday, Nov. 7, the spacecraft was instructed to point toward the Sun and operate the array deployment motors for a short period of time. As expected, the latest attempt deployed the wing incrementally forward, but it did not latch. The operation did succeed in providing the team with data to evaluate the array’s status and ascertain any changes since the last deployment attempt on June 16.
During this analysis, the team identified that a small vibration occurred as the unlatched array interacted with the spacecraft’s attitude controller while the array was pointed toward Earth and at a cold temperature. The vibration did not occur as a result of the deployment activity itself. While this vibration is too small to pose a risk to the spacecraft in its current state, further array deployment attempts have been paused while the attitude controller is updated to resolve this issue. In the meantime, the spacecraft was reoriented so that the array is warmer, and the team found that the vibration is not present. The team will re-evaluate further redeployment activities once the updates to the controller are checked out on the spacecraft.
In other words, engineers have decided to halt further deployment attempts until they understand fully the cause of this vibration.
At present, the spacecraft is in good health, and the array, only a few degrees short of full deployment, is producing more than 90% of its expected power, more than enough to run the full mission.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Artist’s impression of solar panel
On November 7, 2022, the Lucy science team made another attempt to complete the deployment of one of the spacecraft’s two solar arrays, as shown in the graphic to the right. After launch that array failed to deploy properly, and though later attempts have gotten it mostly open, it has not latched tight.
On Monday, Nov. 7, the spacecraft was instructed to point toward the Sun and operate the array deployment motors for a short period of time. As expected, the latest attempt deployed the wing incrementally forward, but it did not latch. The operation did succeed in providing the team with data to evaluate the array’s status and ascertain any changes since the last deployment attempt on June 16.
During this analysis, the team identified that a small vibration occurred as the unlatched array interacted with the spacecraft’s attitude controller while the array was pointed toward Earth and at a cold temperature. The vibration did not occur as a result of the deployment activity itself. While this vibration is too small to pose a risk to the spacecraft in its current state, further array deployment attempts have been paused while the attitude controller is updated to resolve this issue. In the meantime, the spacecraft was reoriented so that the array is warmer, and the team found that the vibration is not present. The team will re-evaluate further redeployment activities once the updates to the controller are checked out on the spacecraft.
In other words, engineers have decided to halt further deployment attempts until they understand fully the cause of this vibration.
At present, the spacecraft is in good health, and the array, only a few degrees short of full deployment, is producing more than 90% of its expected power, more than enough to run the full mission.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Do they anticipate that the array will not produce sufficient power when it is further from the Sun? Or do they fear that some force might reduce the deployment amount, and have the same effect?
Without understanding what the risk motivation is, it is hard to understand trying to tweak a mechanism millions of miles away, at the risk of permanently undoing an acceptable condition.
“I know engineers, they LOVE to change things”. Leonard ‘Bones’ McCoy, M.D
This was the type of solar panels Orion was to use early on, I believe
https://www.universetoday.com/74335/space-factory-of-the-future-preparing-for-orion-spacecraft-for-flight/
The current ones are overperforming
https://phys.org/news/2022-11-nasa-moon-mission-exceeding-expectaions.html
That’s right, keep messing with it until you break it
Think of the benefit of having a tiny 3inch cube with a camera that you could deploy from the main spacecraft to inspect the exterior. Of course it better be very reliable to avoid crashing into anything. These last 3 years I have been living for those camera shots that SpaceX provides.
Think of the benefit of having a tiny 3inch cube with a camera….especially over my not neighbor’s swimming pool.
If the CIA hasn’t talked to SpaceX about putting an appropriately tweaked smart phone camera on all of their birds, I’d be very surprised.
You need better optics than that. Still…to this day…some of GAMBIT’s images are the best
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/KH-8_Gambit_3
https://www.thespacereview.com/article/1927/1
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/KH-9_Hexagon