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File photo of ULA Atlas V
rocket poised for launch from Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on Jan. 19,
2018. NASA has selected Atlas V to launch the Lucy
probe on the 1st mission to Jupiter's unexplored Trojan asteroids. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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CAPE CANAVERAL, FL - NASA has selected the United Launch Alliance workhorse Atlas V rocket to launch the Lucy planetary science spacecraft on the agency’s first ever mission to Jupiter’s swarm of unexplored Trojan asteroids.
Liftoff of Lucy is slated for just under 1000 days from now from the Florida Space Coast. It was selected as NASA’s 13th Discovery class mission in Jan. 2017. The launch window opens Oct. 16, 2021.
The Lucy mission currently is targeted to launch in October 2021 on an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA announced in the contract award on Jan. 31.
“With boosts from Earth’s gravity, the spacecraft will embark on a 12-year journey to study primitive asteroids orbiting the Sun in tandem with Jupiter,” said NASA.
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This diagram illustrates Lucy's orbital
path. The spacecraft’s path (green) is shown in a frame of reference where
Jupiter remains stationary, giving the trajectory its pretzel-like shape. After
launch in October 2021, Lucy has two close Earth flybys before encountering its
Trojan targets. In the L4 cloud Lucy will fly by (3548) Eurybates (white),
(15094) Polymele (pink), (11351) Leucus (red), and (21900) Orus (red) from
2027-2028. After diving past Earth again Lucy will visit the L5 cloud and
encounter the (617) Patroclus-Menoetius binary (pink) in 2033. As a bonus, in
2025 on the way to the L4, Lucy flies by a small Main Belt asteroid, (52246)
Donaldjohanson (white), named for the discoverer of the Lucy fossil. After
flying by the Patroclus-Menoetius binary in 2033, Lucy will continue cycling
between the two Trojan clouds every six years.
Credits:
Southwest Research Institute
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During the 4156 day mission Lucy will investigate
six Trojan asteroids, which lead and follow Jupiter in its orbit by roughly 60
degrees and one main belt asteroid that “hold vital clues to the history of the
Solar System.”
“No other space mission is history has been launched to as many different destinations in independent orbits around the Sun!”
And there is no margin for delay with either the rocket or the spacecraft because the mission must blastoff on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity opening Oct 16, 2021.
To date the ULA rockets have been 100% reliable and will soon launch NASA astronauts aboard the Boeing Starliner crew capsule later this year to the International Space Station (ISS).
“We could not be more pleased that NASA has selected ULA to launch this amazing planetary science mission,” said Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
“This mission has a once-in-a-lifetime planetary launch window, and Atlas V’s world-leading schedule certainty, coupled with our reliability and performance provided the optimal vehicle for this mission. Our Atlas V rocket has launched 79 times achieving 100 percent mission success, and we look forward to working again with our mission partners to explore our universe.”
The mission will launch aboard an Atlas V 401
configuration rocket with a 4 meter (13-foot) diameter payload fairing and a single engine
Centaur upper stage with no thrust augmentation from first stage solid rocket
boosters.
The NASA Launch Services Contract award specifies a total cost of approximately $148.3 million for the Lucy mission, which includes the launch service and other mission related costs.
Rocker builder ULA has launched numerous NASA science missions including the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory; New Horizons; InSight Mars lander, OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to return asteroid samples to Earth; Parker Solar Probe, Juno Jupiter Orbiter and the Solar Dynamics Observatory to study the sun.
“No other space mission is history has been launched to as many different destinations in independent orbits around the Sun!”
And there is no margin for delay with either the rocket or the spacecraft because the mission must blastoff on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity opening Oct 16, 2021.
To date the ULA rockets have been 100% reliable and will soon launch NASA astronauts aboard the Boeing Starliner crew capsule later this year to the International Space Station (ISS).
“We could not be more pleased that NASA has selected ULA to launch this amazing planetary science mission,” said Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
“This mission has a once-in-a-lifetime planetary launch window, and Atlas V’s world-leading schedule certainty, coupled with our reliability and performance provided the optimal vehicle for this mission. Our Atlas V rocket has launched 79 times achieving 100 percent mission success, and we look forward to working again with our mission partners to explore our universe.”
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File photo of launch of ULA Atlas V from
Space Launch Complex-41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Fla., on Jan. 19, 2018. NASA has selected Atlas V to launch the Lucy probe on the 1st
mission to Jupiter's unexplored Trojan asteroids. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
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The NASA Launch Services Contract award specifies a total cost of approximately $148.3 million for the Lucy mission, which includes the launch service and other mission related costs.
Rocker builder ULA has launched numerous NASA science missions including the Curiosity Mars Science Laboratory; New Horizons; InSight Mars lander, OSIRIS-REx, the first U.S. mission to return asteroid samples to Earth; Parker Solar Probe, Juno Jupiter Orbiter and the Solar Dynamics Observatory to study the sun.
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This
artist’s concept depicts the Lucy spacecraft flying past the Trojan asteroid
(617) Patroclus and its binary companion Menoetius. Lucy will be the first
mission to explore Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids – ancient remnants of the outer
solar system trapped in the giant planet’s orbit. Credit:
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Conceptual Image Lab/Adriana Gutierrez
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Lucy
is a Discovery class mission led by principal investigator Harold
"Hal" Levison from the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder,
Colorado.
“Lucy provides us with a unique opportunity,” said Levison, in a Jan. 20 blog post.
“Because the Trojans are remnants of the stuff that formed the outer planets, they are literally the fossils of planet formation. Lucy, like the human fossil for which it is named, will revolutionize the understanding of our origins.”
Lockheed Martin is building the spacecraft as prime contractor.
“Jupiter's swarms of
Trojan asteroids may be remnants of the primordial material that formed the
outer planets, and serve as time capsules from the birth of our solar system
more than 4 billion years ago. Lucy will be the first space mission to study
the Trojans.
The mission takes its name from the fossilized human ancestor (named “Lucy” by her discoverers) whose skeleton provided unique insight into humanity's evolution. Lucy will complete a 12-year journey to seven different asteroids.”
After launching on the Atlas V in Oct 2021, Lucy will carry out two Earth flyby maneuvers in Oct 2022 and Dec 2024 to set up the asteroid flyby tour.
Southwest
Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado is the principal investigator institution
for the Lucy Mission and will lead the science investigation. NASA’s Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland will provide overall mission
management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Lockheed
Martin Space Systems in Denver, Colorado will build the spacecraft.
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.
Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area.
.……….“Lucy provides us with a unique opportunity,” said Levison, in a Jan. 20 blog post.
“Because the Trojans are remnants of the stuff that formed the outer planets, they are literally the fossils of planet formation. Lucy, like the human fossil for which it is named, will revolutionize the understanding of our origins.”
Lockheed Martin is building the spacecraft as prime contractor.
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During the course of its mission, Lucy will
fly by six Jupiter Trojans. This time-lapsed animation shows the movements of
the inner planets (Mercury, brown; Venus, white; Earth, blue; Mars, red),
Jupiter (orange), and the two Trojan swarms (green) during the course of the
Lucy mission. Credits: Astronomical Institute of CAS/Petr
Scheirich (used with permission)
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The mission takes its name from the fossilized human ancestor (named “Lucy” by her discoverers) whose skeleton provided unique insight into humanity's evolution. Lucy will complete a 12-year journey to seven different asteroids.”
After launching on the Atlas V in Oct 2021, Lucy will carry out two Earth flyby maneuvers in Oct 2022 and Dec 2024 to set up the asteroid flyby tour.
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| Lucy mission asteroid flyby tour |
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia.
Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area.
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