Author Topic: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021 (09:34 UTC)  (Read 67325 times)

Offline russianhalo117

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8755
  • Liked: 4673
  • Likes Given: 768
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #40 on: 09/02/2021 04:57 pm »
What will happen to the SRBs? Will they stay in storage for OFT-2, be used for another mission, or be scrapped?
Storage as they are not life expired.

Offline Phillipsturtles

  • Member
  • Posts: 57
  • Florida
  • Liked: 95
  • Likes Given: 8
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #41 on: 09/04/2021 10:39 pm »
With the recent news that all future Atlas V missions have been sold, I just realized that this will be the final interplanetary mission that an Atlas V will launch :(

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48178
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81685
  • Likes Given: 36941
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #42 on: 09/16/2021 03:06 pm »
https://twitter.com/ulalaunch/status/1438514835554123776

Quote
The Centaur upper stage for @NASA's #LucyMission arrives at ULA's Vertical Integration Facility for hoisting atop the #AtlasV first stage. The 401 configuration of the rocket will launch this mission to 8 asteroids, the most objects ever visited by a single spacecraft.

Offline zubenelgenubi

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 11186
  • Arc to Arcturus, then Spike to Spica
  • Sometimes it feels like Trantor in the time of Hari Seldon
  • Liked: 7405
  • Likes Given: 72501
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #43 on: 09/17/2021 09:15 pm »
Wet Dress Rehearsal or no WDR?

No WDR?  Atlas V 401 launching from the Cape.

WDR?  NASA may pay for a WDR before an interplanetary mission.


Mini-schedule for late September and all October Space Coast launches:
Launched:
№ – Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site - Time (UTC)

October 16 (into NLT November 5) - Lucy [Discovery 13] - Atlas V 401 (AV-096 082) - Canaveral SLC-41 - 09:34:00 to 10:49 ~09:00

Scheduled:
Date - Satellite(s) - Rocket - Launch Site - Time (UTC)

October 30 August 12 September mid-Sept autumn Sept 13 October NET Oct 23 NET Oct 31 - USCV-3: Crew Dragon (Crew-3) - Falcon 9-128? (1067.2 S) - Kennedy LC-39A - 06:43 ~05:30 ~06:00 06:37
(ISS flights: 22-26 minutes earlier/day)

NET November? NET June NET July July 12? July TBD NET August? or July 31? TBD mid August? NET September NET mid Sept NET late Sept NET October NET late Sept NET Oct - Starlink flight TBD 30 31? (x60?) [v1.0 L29 ??] - Falcon 9-TBD 124 TBD 127? (S) - Canaveral SLC-40 / Kennedy LC-39A
(Starlink: launch 20-22 minutes earlier/day?)

TBD NET July NET August? August? NET October - Starlink flight ?? 31 (x60?) [v1.0 L30 ??] - Falcon 9 (S) - Kennedy LC-39A / Canaveral SLC-40
(Starlink: launch 20-22 minutes earlier/day?)

Changes on September 8th, 2020
Changes on October 6th, 2020
Changes on October 16th, 2020
Changes on December 14th, 2020
Changes in January
Changes on February 27th
Changes on April 1st
Changes on April 5th
Changes on May 22nd
Changes on May 26th
Changes on May 28th
Changes on May 29th
Changes on June 14th
Changes on July 9th
Changes on July 13th
Changes on July 22nd
Changes on July 25th
Changes on July 27th
Changes on August 5th
Changes on August 6th
Changes on August 10th
Changes on August 16th
Changes on August 24th
Changes on August 25th
Changes on September 6th
Changes on September 7th
Changes on September 13th
Changes on September 15th
Changes on September 17th
Changes on September 30th
Changes on October 12th
Changes on October 16th
zubenelgenubi
« Last Edit: 10/17/2021 11:09 pm by zubenelgenubi »
Support your local planetarium! (COVID-panic and forward: Now more than ever.) My current avatar is saying "i wants to go uppies!" Yes, there are God-given rights. Do you wish to gainsay the Declaration of Independence?

Offline TGMetsFan98

Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #44 on: 09/19/2021 11:54 pm »
There will be a WDR for this mission.
It’s a beautiful day to go to space.

Offline mmonty

  • Member
  • Posts: 51
  • Liked: 90
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #45 on: 09/20/2021 01:21 pm »
There will be a WDR for this mission.
Lucy is fueled for flight. Spacecraft close-outs this week. Encapsulation at the end of the month.
WDR taking place around 1 Oct 2021.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48178
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81685
  • Likes Given: 36941
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #46 on: 09/21/2021 09:51 pm »
https://twitter.com/lucymission/status/1440422543395983360

Quote
Big day for the #LucyMIssion! We've reached Key Decision Point E!

Today @NASA gives the green light for the spacecraft to actually launch and move on to the longest mission phase: Phase E - Operations!

This is where all the science happens!

Online Josh_from_Canada

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 544
  • Saskatchewan Canada
  • Liked: 584
  • Likes Given: 182
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #47 on: 09/21/2021 09:59 pm »
I want to note that the is the final interplanetary mission to ever be launched on an Atlas.
Launches Seen: Atlas V OA-7, Falcon 9 Starlink 6-4, Falcon 9 CRS-28,

Offline Comga

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6466
  • Liked: 4572
  • Likes Given: 5136
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #48 on: 09/23/2021 04:58 am »
I want to note that the is the final interplanetary mission to ever be launched on an Atlas.
Phillipsturtles beat you to this realization just a few posts back although he was not the first to note it.
Posting without reading leads to duplication. ;)
What kind of wastrels would dump a perfectly good booster in the ocean after just one use?

Offline Star One

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13997
  • UK
  • Liked: 3974
  • Likes Given: 220
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #49 on: 09/23/2021 07:29 am »
Lagrange Points: Lucy Goes to Space:


Offline Star One

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13997
  • UK
  • Liked: 3974
  • Likes Given: 220
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #50 on: 09/23/2021 07:31 am »
Investigating Asteroids with Lucy’s Scientific Instruments:


Offline FutureSpaceTourist

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 48178
  • UK
    • Plan 28
  • Liked: 81685
  • Likes Given: 36941
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #51 on: 09/24/2021 08:01 pm »
Stacking photos from ULA

Online Josh_from_Canada

  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 544
  • Saskatchewan Canada
  • Liked: 584
  • Likes Given: 182
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #52 on: 09/27/2021 11:12 pm »
Mission Artwork Poster for this launch.
Launches Seen: Atlas V OA-7, Falcon 9 Starlink 6-4, Falcon 9 CRS-28,

Offline Rondaz

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 27059
  • Liked: 5301
  • Likes Given: 169
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #53 on: 09/28/2021 11:18 pm »
NASA | Lucy Launch Preview Briefing


Offline Targeteer

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6153
  • near hangar 18
  • Liked: 3364
  • Likes Given: 1139
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #54 on: 09/29/2021 12:10 am »
September 28, 2021
RELEASE 21-127
NASA’s Lucy Mission Prepares for Launch to Trojan Asteroids
 

NASA has tested the functions of Lucy, the agency’s first spacecraft to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, filled it with fuel, and is preparing to pack it into a capsule for launch Saturday, Oct. 16.

Named after characters in Greek mythology, these asteroids circle the Sun in two swarms, with one group leading ahead of Jupiter in its path, the other trailing behind it. Lucy will be the first spacecraft to visit these asteroids. By studying these asteroids up close, scientists hope to hone their theories on how our solar system’s planets formed 4.5 billion years ago and why they ended up in their current configuration.

“With Lucy, we’re going to eight never-before-seen asteroids in 12 years with a single spacecraft,” said Tom Statler, Lucy project scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This is a fantastic opportunity for discovery as we probe into our solar system’s distant past.”

Following all pandemic protocols, Lucy team members have spent the past eight weeks at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparing the spacecraft for flight. Engineers have tested the spacecraft’s mechanical, electrical, and thermal systems and practiced executing the launch sequence from the mission operations centers at Kennedy and Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado. In early August, engineers installed the spacecraft’s high-gain antenna, its second most prominent feature after the expansive solar arrays, which will allow the spacecraft to communicate with Earth.

“There has been a lot of hands-on work,” said Donya Douglas-Bradshaw, Lucy project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “This summer has gone by so fast; it’s hard to believe we’re nearly at launch.”

On Sept. 18, propulsion engineers finished filling Lucy’s fuel tanks with approximately 1,600 pounds (725 kilograms) of liquid hydrazine and liquid oxygen, which make up 40% of the mass of the spacecraft. The fuel will be used for precise maneuvers that will propel Lucy to its asteroid destinations on schedule, while the solar arrays – each the width of a school bus – will recharge the batteries that will power spacecraft instruments.

The Lucy spacecraft will soon be packed into the two halves of the launch vehicle fairing, which will close around it like a clamshell. After the spacecraft is encapsulated, the Lucy team will be able to communicate with it electrically through an “umbilical cord.”

“Launching a spacecraft is almost like sending a child off to college – you’ve done what can for them to get them ready for that next big step on their own,” said Hal Levison, the principal investigator of the Lucy mission, based at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

In early October, the encapsulated spacecraft will be transported to the Vehicle Integration Facility at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where it will be “mated” with the United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket. The Atlas V will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41.The rocket will carry Lucy outside Earth’s atmosphere to begin the long journey to the Trojan asteroids.

A few days prior to launch, engineers will power up the Lucy spacecraft in preparation for the mission. This process will take about 20 minutes.

“The spacecraft will sit in launch configuration and the engineering team will continuously monitor its health and status to make sure Lucy is ready to go,” said Jessica Lounsbury, the Lucy project systems engineer at Goddard. “And then it’s launch day.”

Lucy’s first launch attempt is scheduled for 5:34 a.m. EDT on Oct. 16. That day, the team will be “called to stations” at 1 a.m., which is when everyone is expected to arrive at mission control and other stations to monitor the spacecraft and run through the full launch countdown procedures. If weather or any other issues prohibit a launch that day, the team will have additional launch opportunities beginning the following day.

Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, is the home institution of the principal investigator for the Lucy mission. Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering, and safety and mission assurance. Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Lucy is the 13th mission in NASA’s Discovery Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Discovery Program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy.

For more information about NASA's Lucy mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/lucy/overview/index
Best quote heard during an inspection, "I was unaware that I was the only one who was aware."

Offline su27k

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6414
  • Liked: 9100
  • Likes Given: 885
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #55 on: 09/29/2021 02:57 am »
Government shutdown could delay NASA’s Lucy asteroid mission

Quote from: SpaceNews
However, actions — or, more accurately, a lack of action — 1,200 kilometers from the launch site could bring those activities to a sudden halt. The new fiscal year will begin Oct. 1 and Congress has yet to pass a temporary spending bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, to fund the government until it passes full-year appropriations bills. Some Republican members oppose an increase in the debt limit, required to avoid a government default, that would also be included in the CR.

If Congress does not pass a CR by Oct. 1, the federal government would shut down for the first time since a five-week shutdown in December 2018 and January 2019. Nonessential government activities would stop and federal employees furloughed.

NASA’s contingency plan for a shutdown, last updated June 9, states that operations of the International Space Station and other spacecraft would continue in the event of a shutdown. “However, if a satellite mission has not yet been launched, unfunded work will generally be suspended on that project,” the document states.

Online Steven Pietrobon

  • Member
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 39218
  • Adelaide, Australia
    • Steven Pietrobon's Space Archive
  • Liked: 32738
  • Likes Given: 8196
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #56 on: 09/29/2021 06:51 am »
Since Lucy has to launch within a finite launch period to avoid a delay into next year, I believe that it will get an exemption.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline Star One

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13997
  • UK
  • Liked: 3974
  • Likes Given: 220
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #57 on: 09/29/2021 08:05 am »
Since Lucy has to launch within a finite launch period to avoid a delay into next year, I believe that it will get an exemption.
I seem to remember another interplanetary mission getting an exemption during a previous government shutdown but I can’t for the life of me remember which one it was now.

Offline ZachS09

  • Space Savant
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8407
  • Roanoke, TX
  • Liked: 2345
  • Likes Given: 2060
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #58 on: 09/29/2021 04:22 pm »
Since Lucy has to launch within a finite launch period to avoid a delay into next year, I believe that it will get an exemption.
I seem to remember another interplanetary mission getting an exemption during a previous government shutdown but I can’t for the life of me remember which one it was now.

Was it Perseverance?
Liftoff for St. Jude's! Go Dragon, Go Falcon, Godspeed Inspiration4!

Offline Star One

  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13997
  • UK
  • Liked: 3974
  • Likes Given: 220
Re: Atlas V 401 - Lucy - CC SLC-41 - 16 October 2021
« Reply #59 on: 09/29/2021 04:29 pm »
Since Lucy has to launch within a finite launch period to avoid a delay into next year, I believe that it will get an exemption.
I seem to remember another interplanetary mission getting an exemption during a previous government shutdown but I can’t for the life of me remember which one it was now.

Was it Perseverance?
Might well have been.

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0