Reviving this old thread from when the program was officially started to mark a milestone: CDR passed with the Structural Test (STM) and Engineering Models (EM); Flight Model (FM) construction started!https://twitter.com/esascience/status/1113446415341096962
JUICE (2022) may be switched to [an early] the second Ariane 64 launch. [Conditional below.]Quote from: an ESA directorNeuenschwander said ESA wants to have Ariane 64 as an option for its Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, mission, but would only consider launching the science mission on the new rocket after seeing a commercial launch. JUICE is currently scheduled to launch in 2022 on an Ariane 5. https://spacenews.com/arianegroup-starting-ariane-6-production-after-new-esa-agreement/
Neuenschwander said ESA wants to have Ariane 64 as an option for its Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, mission, but would only consider launching the science mission on the new rocket after seeing a commercial launch. JUICE is currently scheduled to launch in 2022 on an Ariane 5.
Cross-post:QuoteJUICE (2022) may be switched to [an early] the second Ariane 64 launch. [Conditional below.]Quote from: an ESA directorNeuenschwander said ESA wants to have Ariane 64 as an option for its Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, mission, but would only consider launching the science mission on the new rocket after seeing a commercial launch. JUICE is currently scheduled to launch in 2022 on an Ariane 5.
JUICE (2022) may be switched to [an early] the second Ariane 64 launch. [Conditional below.]Quote from: an ESA directorNeuenschwander said ESA wants to have Ariane 64 as an option for its Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, mission, but would only consider launching the science mission on the new rocket after seeing a commercial launch. JUICE is currently scheduled to launch in 2022 on an Ariane 5.
Cross-post:QuoteJUICE (2022) may be switched to [an early] the second Ariane 64 launch. [Conditional below.]Quote from: an ESA directorNeuenschwander said ESA wants to have Ariane 64 as an option for its Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, mission, but would only consider launching the science mission on the new rocket after seeing a commercial launch. JUICE is currently scheduled to launch in 2022 on an Ariane 5. https://spacenews.com/arianegroup-starting-ariane-6-production-after-new-esa-agreement/
What advantage would there be to the Juice mission to this change in launchers? As to me it just looks like sticking an important launch on a relatively untried launcher because it is lacking commercial payloads.
Re: JUICE and possible use of Ariane 6...personal speculation follows.Arianespace may want to shift as many payloads as possible from the "legacy" LV to the new LV?Might there be savings in supporting 1 Ariane launch system instead of 2?Perhaps further discussion should go to the Ariane 6 discussion thread?
Arianespace and the European Space Agency (ESA) today announced the signature of a launch services contract with an Ariane launch vehicle for JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer).
The JUICE mission will utilize an Ariane 5 or an Ariane 64 launch vehicle, with the launch period starting in mid-2022 – depending of the final launch slot from the Guiana Space Center, Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana (South America). With the currently-nominal launch window in May 2022 the mission would end in June 2033.
On 2 September, the main skeleton of JUICE was delivered to the Arianegroup facility in Lampoldshausen, Germany.[...]The structure is part of the so-called Structure, Shielding and Thermal Subsystem (SSTS), built under the responsibility of Airbus Defence & Space in Madrid, Spain, with participation by RUAG Space Switzerland and RUAG Space Austria.[...] some of the vertical panels and parts of the closing walls of the structure are lined with a thin layer of lead, which provides shielding to protect the spacecraft's electronic systems from damage by the severe radiation environment at Jupiter.One of the main tasks at Lampoldshausen will be to integrate the propulsion system. This includes two identical propellant tanks that have been newly developed for EuroStar Neo, ESA's new generation of platforms for geostationary telecommunications satellites. JUICE will be the first space mission to actually utilise them. The first titanium tank, capable of holding 1600 litres of oxidant (mixed oxides of nitrogen, or MON), was carefully lowered inside the spacecraft's central cylinder on 7 September. The second tank, which will contain monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) fuel, is scheduled for installation at the end of October. [...] Some 130 metres of titanium piping will also have to be installed and welded in the STSS. Other hardware to be added during installation of the propulsion system will include pressure regulators, valves, filters and thrusters. In addition to its single 400-newton main engine that will be used for the larger orbital manoeuvres, JUICE will carry eight 22-newton thrusters for smaller manoeuvres and as a backup system, along with twelve 10-newton thrusters for attitude control.[...]According to the current schedule, the JUICE flight model will be moved to Friedrichshafen around March next year for integration and testing of its electrical systems.
The first instrument to fly on ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer, or Juice, has been delivered for integration onto the spacecraft this month. The ultraviolet spectrograph, or UVS for short, pictured in this photo while being prepared before shipping, was designed and built by Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX, US.
First Instrument delivered...QuoteThe first instrument to fly on ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer, or Juice, has been delivered for integration onto the spacecraft this month. The ultraviolet spectrograph, or UVS for short, pictured in this photo while being prepared before shipping, was designed and built by Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX, US.http://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2020/02/First_instrument_delivered_for_Jupiter_Icy_Moon_Explorer
As part of Juice’s comprehensive suite of instruments, UVS will get close-up views of Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, which are all thought to host underground oceans beneath their icy surfaces. By recording the ultraviolet light emitted, transmitted and reflected by the moons, the instrument will reveal the composition of their surfaces and atmospheres, and enable investigations of how these icy bodies interact with Jupiter and its giant magnetosphere.UVS will cover the wavelength range between 55 and 210 nm with spectral resolution better than 0.6 nm. It will achieve a spatial resolution of 0.5 km at Ganymede and up to 250 km at Jupiter.
The UVS instrument represents NASA’s contribution to the mission. The instrument team, led by scientists at Southwest Research Institute, includes additional scientists from University of Colorado Boulder and SETI institute in the US, as well as University of Leicester and Imperial College London (UK), University of Liège (Belgium) and Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (France). NASA’s New Frontiers Program at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) oversees the UVS contribution to ESA.
