Update on Lucy: panels generating more than 90% of expected power
According the Lucy science team, the spacecraft’s solar panels are generating more than 90% of the expected power at this stage of the mission, despite the fact that one panel did not deploy completely and has not latched in final position.
“We’re very happy to report that we are getting most of the power we expected at this point in the mission,” said Joan Salute, associate director for flight programs at NASA’s planetary science division. “It’s not 100%, but it is fairly close. So that is great news.’
In an interview with Spaceflight Now, Salute said the power output from the solar arrays appears to be “most likely above 90%” of the expected level of 18,000 watts. “We don’t know if it’s a latch problem, or that it is only partially deployed,” Salute said.
If correct, there is an excellent chance the mission will not be seriously hindered, even if they cannot get the panel fully deployed or latched. At the same time, there are worries about firing Lucy’s main engine for major course corrections with the panel unlatched. The first major course correction is scheduled for mid-November.
The engineers are presently reviewing their data. One option might be to order the spacecraft to re-attempt a full deployment, in the hope that the process will complete during that second attempt.
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According the Lucy science team, the spacecraft’s solar panels are generating more than 90% of the expected power at this stage of the mission, despite the fact that one panel did not deploy completely and has not latched in final position.
“We’re very happy to report that we are getting most of the power we expected at this point in the mission,” said Joan Salute, associate director for flight programs at NASA’s planetary science division. “It’s not 100%, but it is fairly close. So that is great news.’
In an interview with Spaceflight Now, Salute said the power output from the solar arrays appears to be “most likely above 90%” of the expected level of 18,000 watts. “We don’t know if it’s a latch problem, or that it is only partially deployed,” Salute said.
If correct, there is an excellent chance the mission will not be seriously hindered, even if they cannot get the panel fully deployed or latched. At the same time, there are worries about firing Lucy’s main engine for major course corrections with the panel unlatched. The first major course correction is scheduled for mid-November.
The engineers are presently reviewing their data. One option might be to order the spacecraft to re-attempt a full deployment, in the hope that the process will complete during that second attempt.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Question:
What generally are the criteria for selecting a power source for these type of probes?
–I always wonder why radioisotope thermoelectric generators are not used as a matter of course. How much of these decisions are political vs. engineering?
How much power does the Hubble telescope consume?
Wayne: The criteria appears to be cost and the probe’s location. Closer than Mars generally they choose solar power, because there is an ample supply and I suspect solar panels are cheaper overall. From Jupiter and beyond the radioisotope power generator is the only choice, because solar power is insufficient. From Mars to Jupiter it appears it becomes an either/or depending on many other factors.
Don‘t forget the Juno probe, which uses oversized solar panels to get it‘s power in orbit around Jupiter.
Mr. Z.,
Thank you. That’s about the most rational explanation I’ve heard.
Radioisotope Power Systems page at NASA
https://rps.nasa.gov/
tangential but interesting….
“Presidential Memorandum on Launch of Spacecraft Containing Space Nuclear Systems”
D.J. Trump, issued August 20, 2019
https://rps.nasa.gov/news/36/presidential-memorandum-on-launch-of-spacecraft-containing-space-nuclear-systems/