JAKARTA – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will again launch the asteroid 16 Psyche mission in October 2023, after experiencing a delay of more than a year.
The mission was originally slated to launch in August 2022 to explore the metal-rich 16 Psyche asteroid.
Two months before liftoff, NASA delayed the launch of the spacecraft due to problems with its flight software and testing equipment.
The delay prompted a review of operations at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which uncovered a number of issues related to its workforce, alongside other factors, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, communication and management issues.
A few weeks ago, the Independent Review Board (IRB) completed another assessment of how well JPL and the Psyche team responded to its recommendations to get things back on track.
The suggestions included adding experienced members to the team, rearranging the workforce, and monitoring progress towards rollout with more comprehensive metrics.
“The IRB believes the response to our Psyche project and the JPL agency’s findings and recommendations has been very favorable,” said retired aerospace executive A. Thomas Young, who chaired the IRB in a recent press conference, quoted from Space, Tuesday, June 13.
“We believe Psyche is on a positive track for the October 2023 launch. We believe the 2023 launch readiness date is reliable, and the likelihood of overall mission success is high,” he added.
The spacecraft will reach the asteroid Psyche in August 2029, orbit it for 26 months to gain insights into planet formation, better understand the interiors of Earth-like terrestrial planets, and examine asteroids that are mostly metallic.
The Payche asteroid, located in the outermost part of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, may be the remains of a planetesimal core, a building block of planetary rock.
Unlike many other bodies in the Solar System, the asteroid Psyche rotates on its side. Mission planners need to account for this unusual rotation when they chart the spacecraft’s observing orbits around the asteroid.
Another challenge, the spacecraft will reach Psyche at a different point in the asteroid’s orbit around the Sun than in the previous mission plan. The Psyche mission will launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Launch Complex 39A.
In addition, the lessons from the Psyche mission also apply to other flight projects, including the Europa Clipper and Mars Sample Return. JPL also maintains monthly project status reviews to ensure risks are well understood at all levels of the organization.
“Our goal goes beyond getting Psyche to the launch pad to enhance JPL as a whole as we work on missions that will help us better understand Earth, explore the solar system and universe, and search for signs of life,” said JPL Director Laurie Leshin.
“Our strong response to the board’s findings reinforces the notion that JPL can solve any problem with the right focus and care.”
Tag: space nasa
2023-06-13 18:04:00
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