Was NASA Lucy Spacecraft Solar Panel Deployment Test Successful?

NASA said it successfully conducted a solar deployment test for Lucy spacecraft.

The space agency finished thermal vacuum testing of both solar panels. It is the final step in ensuring that the critical components are in good working order in advance of the launch.

(Photo: NASA/Lockheed Martin)
At 24 feet (7.3 meters) across each, Lucy’s two solar panels underwent initial deployment tests in January 2021. In this photo, a technician at Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado, inspects one of Lucy’s arrays during its first deployment. These massive solar arrays will power the Lucy spacecraft throughout its entire 4-billion-mile, 12-year journey through space as it heads out to explore Jupiter’s elusive Trojan asteroids.

Lucy is NASA's 13th Discovery Program flight that is scheduled to debut this fall. The spacecraft, according to Phys.org, will travel 530 million miles (853 million kilometers) from the sun on its 12-year tour of the Trojan asteroids.

How Large Is Lucy Spacecraft's Solar Panel?

The spacecraft, according to NASA, is equipped with large solar panels that, when completely stretched, can cover a five-story house.

Since it would work further from the sun than any prior solar-powered space flight, the spacecraft has such large solar panels.

Northrop Grumman designed the solar panels, which will be the spacecraft's and instruments' primary fuel source for the duration of the 12-year flight.

NASA said the solar panels would produce about 500 watts of electricity, which is roughly equivalent to the energy used to operate a washing machine.

While 500 watts is a small amount of energy, the large panels are needed due to the spacecraft's distance from the sun.

ALSO READ: NASA Names Asteroids After Diverse Group of 27 Trailblazing Astronauts

The solar panels are just 4 inches (10 cm) thick when folded, but when stretched, each solar panel has a diameter of nearly 24 feet (7.3 meters). Furthermore, since the solar arrays can't withstand their own weight of 170 pounds (77kg) in Earth gravity.

The panels must deploy flawlessly in space around an hour after the spacecraft launches, according to NASA.

How NASA Did the Solar Panel Deployment

Solar panel deployment experiments were carried out in a thermal vacuum chamber at Lockheed Martin Space between December 2020 and February 2021.

Matt Cox, Lockheed Martin's Lucy program manager said that Lucy's final solar array deployment test was a triumphant end to a long journey of progress. Cox added the team overcame every challenge to get these solar panels ready, thanks to their determination and meticulous attention to detail.

"Lucy will travel farther from the sun than any previous solar-powered Discovery-class mission, and one reason we can do that is the technology in these solar arrays."

"In spite of their complexity and size, the mechanical deployment of the arrays executed flawlessly, said Donya Douglas-Bradshaw, Lucy project manager from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "The ingenuity and innovation of the team are truly remarkable!"

These critical checks move the spacecraft closer to launch readiness. The Lucy spacecraft will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida this summer in preparation for launch on Oct. 16, 2021, when its window opens in the early morning hours.