How was NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft packed and shipped from the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California to Kennedy Space Center in Florida? The mission’s lead engineer Kobie Boykins explains how the team made sure the 7,000-pound spacecraft would be safe while it traveled first on a semitruck then flew to Florida on a United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III. The Europa Clipper team also shipped enough ground support equipment to fill 14 semitrailers.
A brand new Falcon Heavy Center Core has appeared at McGregor. This is presumed to be B1090, arriving for its testing campaign ahead of launching Europa Clipper in October.Along with B1064 and B1065, this core will be expended. ( Credit: NSF McGregor Live )
A new Falcon Heavy center core B1090 is getting ready for testing at SpaceX in McGregor, TX. nsf.live/mcgregor@NASASpaceflight
Yes, all 3 boosters are going to end up in the drink. Which is what is driving my anxiety, if I recalll, this will only be the 2nd time ever that a Falcon Heavy will be fully expended. It's gonna be white-knuckle time.
Quote from: ugordan on 07/01/2024 10:07 pmYes, all 3 boosters are going to end up in the drink. Which is what is driving my anxiety, if I recalll, this will only be the 2nd time ever that a Falcon Heavy will be fully expended. It's gonna be white-knuckle time. You make it sound like expending boosters is more risky than landing them. Am I missing something here ??I’d rather see them land. It’s a thrilling sight every time but I understand mission requirements dictate.
Expending the side boosters means they remain attached longer, burn longer and stage later, so it's a different and uncommon flight profile, brings with it new risks that have not been retired by the previous successful flights with the typical flight profile. (At least that's my take on ugordan's concerns)
Let's just say I'll breathe a sigh of relief once they separate.
Quote from: ugordan on 07/02/2024 07:47 amLet's just say I'll breathe a sigh of relief once they separate.Even though launches are becoming routine, isn't breathing a sigh of relief still standard procedure for successful completion of every step in a launch?
A static fire test was completed this evening on the Falcon Heavy center core in McGregor. Final checks are underway tonight on McGregor LIVE nsf.live/mcgregor@NASASpaceflight x.com/adamcuker/stat…
Quote from: Eric Hedman on 07/02/2024 09:18 pmQuote from: ugordan on 07/02/2024 07:47 amLet's just say I'll breathe a sigh of relief once they separate.Even though launches are becoming routine, isn't breathing a sigh of relief still standard procedure for successful completion of every step in a launch?While true the stakes are much higher for this than say the 135th Starlink launch.I'll be nervous until separation then I'll be nervous about deployment of panels and antennae etc and then orbital insertion. It's all ruthlessly unforgiving and that's what makes it amazing.
Launch preparations are progressing with NASA’s Europa Clipper mission. The spacecraft arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in May, where the team recently attached the high-gain antenna.Engineers with NASA’s Europa Clipper mission continue to conduct extensive testing of transistors that help control the flow of electricity on the spacecraft. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, which manages the mission, began the tests after learning that some of these parts may not withstand the radiation of the Jupiter system, which is the most intense radiation environment in the solar system.Tests also are being conducted at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. APL designed the main spacecraft body in collaboration with JPL and NASA Goddard.The issue with the transistors came to light in May when the mission team was advised that similar parts were failing at lower radiation doses than expected. In June 2024, an industry alert was sent out to notify users of this issue. The manufacturer is working with the mission team to support ongoing radiation test and analysis efforts in order to better understand the risk of using these parts on the Europa Clipper spacecraft.Testing data obtained so far indicates some transistors are likely to fail in the high-radiation environment near Jupiter and its moon Europa because the parts are not as radiation resistant as expected. The team is working to determine how many transistors may be susceptible and how they will perform in-flight. NASA is evaluating options for maximizing the transistors’ longevity in the Jupiter system. A preliminary analysis is expected to be complete in late July.Radiation-hardened electronics are used throughout industry to protect spacecraft from radiation damage that can occur in space. The Jupiter system is particularly harmful to spacecraft as its enormous magnetic field — 20,000 times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field — traps charged particles and accelerates them to very high energies, creating intense radiation that bombards Europa and other inner moons. It appears that the issue that may be impacting the transistors on Europa Clipper is a phenomenon that the industry wasn’t aware of and represents a newly identified gap in the industry standard radiation qualification of transistor wafer lots.
The flawed chips in Europa Clipper are called metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors, or MOSFETs.“We’re seeing some of these MOSFETs fail at lower radiation levels” than the prevailing environment around Europa, Shannon Fitzpatrick, the head of flight programs for NASA’s Planetary Science Division, said during a meeting of the Planetary Science Advisory Committee, a group of outside researchers who advise NASA, this week. She also said in the meeting that engineers had not yet solved the issue.The chips currently in Europa Clipper are manufactured by Infineon Technologies, a German semiconductor firm. They are also used in military spacecraft. An Infineon spokesperson declined to comment on “actual or potential customers,” but said that the company has “stringent processes in place to ensure compliance with all relevant quality and performance standards for our products.”
NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission Moving Toward October Launch DateAugust 28, 2024NASA’s Europa Clipper mission remains on track, with a launch period opening on Thursday, Oct. 10. The next major milestone for Clipper is Key Decision Point E on Monday, Sept. 9, in which the agency will decide whether the project is ready to proceed to launch and mission operations. NASA will provide more information at a mission overview and media briefing targeted for that same week.The Europa Clipper mission team recently conducted extensive testing and analysis of transistors that help control the flow of electricity on the spacecraft. Analysis of the results suggests the transistors can support the baseline mission.
QuoteNASA’s Europa Clipper Mission Moving Toward October Launch DateAugust 28, 2024NASA’s Europa Clipper mission remains on track, with a launch period opening on Thursday, Oct. 10. The next major milestone for Clipper is Key Decision Point E on Monday, Sept. 9, in which the agency will decide whether the project is ready to proceed to launch and mission operations. NASA will provide more information at a mission overview and media briefing targeted for that same week.The Europa Clipper mission team recently conducted extensive testing and analysis of transistors that help control the flow of electricity on the spacecraft. Analysis of the results suggests the transistors can support the baseline mission.
