Liftoff of Lucy

Lucy has launched.

2 1/2 minute exposure showing the launch of the Lucy spacecraft, Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Last Saturday, at 5:34am, NASA’s Lucy mission successfully launched into space on an Atlas V 401. The launch took place at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on launch pad 41.The Atlas rocket that Lucy launched on was originally intended for Boeing Starliner’s OFT-2 mission which has been postponed indefinitely. The spacecraft was successfully deployed into interplanetary space but one of the solar panels has had issues locking completely in place.

The Lucy Spacecraft, Credit: NASA/SwRI

Lucy is an unmanned mission that will explore a group of asteroids called Trojans. These asteroids have never been visited by a spacecraft. The mission is named for the famous Australopithecus skeleton that helped us understand human evolution. The skeleton is named for a Beatles song, “Lucy in the sky with Diamonds.” During its 12 year mission, Lucy will visit six asteroids (two of them are binary asteroids) and perform three Earth flybys.

My page on Lucy

Sources: https://www.space.com/lucy-asteroid-spacecraft-solar-array-glitch, https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-ula-launch-lucy-mission-to-fossils-of-planet-formation