CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is debating whether to try to fix a jammed solar panel on its newly launched Lucy spacecraft, en route to explore an unprecedented number of asteroids.
The problem cropped up shortly after the spacecraft's Oct. 16 liftoff on a 12-year journey.
After measuring the electric current this week, NASA reported Wednesday that one of Lucy’s two giant, circular solar panels is only between 75% and 95% extended. A lanyard is holding it in place.
Any attempt at reopening the wing — which is 24 feet in diameter (7 meters) — would not occur before mid-November.
So far, the problem has not affected Lucy's outbound flight, so there's no rush to figure out the next step, according to NASA. Everything else on the spacecraft is working properly.
The nearly $1 billion mission seeks to explore seven so-called Trojan asteroids that share Jupiter's orbit around the sun and another space rock closer to home. Lucy should swoop within 600 miles (965 kilometers) of each target.
___
By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
Los Angeles assistant prosecutor faces felony charges April 24, 2024 -
