Lucy

Efforts continue to fully deploy Lucy solar array
Leaders of NASA’s Lucy asteroid mission are increasingly confident that the mission can continue as planned even if ongoing efforts to fully deploy and latch a solar array don’t succeed.

Cause of Lucy solar array deployment problem identified
Engineers have identified the likely reason one of two solar arrays on NASA’s Lucy asteroid mission failed to latch in place after launch, but NASA is still studying whether to fix the problem.

NASA investigating issue with Lucy solar array
Engineers are investigating why one of the two solar arrays on NASA’s Lucy spacecraft may have failed to lock into place when deployed after launch Oct. 16.

Atlas 5 launches NASA’s Lucy asteroid mission
An Atlas 5 successfully launched a NASA spacecraft Oct. 16 on a mission to study distant asteroids that may hold clues to the early history of the solar system.

Government shutdown could delay NASA’s Lucy asteroid mission
A NASA asteroid mission that has remained on schedule for a mid-October launch despite disruptions caused by the pandemic is now facing a new challenge: the threat of a federal government shutdown.

NASA’s planetary science program shifts priority to asteroid missions
With a flagship Mars rover mission launched, NASA’s planetary science division is turning its attention to a pair of asteroid missions set to launch next year.

SpaceX drops protest of NASA launch contract
SpaceX has withdrawn its protest of a launch contract NASA awarded to United Launch Alliance earlier this year for a planetary science mission.