Timeline

Phase A: Concept and Technology Development

On Sept 30, 2015, NASA selects Lucy (along with 4 other exciting proposed missions) as a potential Discovery mission out of a group of 28 proposed missions. The Lucy team is then instructed to carry out in-depth concept design studies. At this point the main parameters of the mission as well as the science goals that the mission are finalized.

During Phase A the Lucy team develops the final mission concept, system-level requirements, needed system technology developments, and program/project technical management plans. During this time the Lucy team focuses on showing the feasibility of the proposed mission and establishing the baseline compatibility with NASA’s strategic plans.

On January 4, 2017 NASA selects Lucy (along with Psyche) to be the next Discovery class missions. This allows Lucy to move on to Phase B.

Phase B: Preliminary Design and Technology Completion

After NASA selects the Lucy Mission for flight on January 4, 2017, the Lucy team moves on to Phase B. During this phase, the Lucy team focuses on developing detailed engineering requirements for all spacecraft systems and instruments as well as developing detailed preliminary designs for all systems. From April 2, 2018 to Sept 28, 2018 the team carries out a series of the Preliminary Design Reviews for all the instruments and subsystems and the spacecraft as a whole. All of the design decisions are made to successfully carry out the mission’s science goals and objectives.

After these designs passes final reviews, the mission moves on to Phase C.

Phase C: Final Design and Fabrication

After the detailed planning and analysis of Phases A and B, Phase C is the exciting time when the spacecraft hardware is actually built.

During Phase C the team finalizes the detailed designs of all of the spacecraft systems and instruments, fabricates all of the flight hardware, and develops all of the software needed to fly the spacecraft and collect the needed data. Each component and subsystem is tested to make sure that it reaches (or exceeds) all design requirements. The team also develops detailed plans and procedures to integrate all of the components.

After passing a series of reviews, the team is ready to move on to Phase D.

Phase D: System Assembly, Integration, and Launch!

Now that all of the components are designed, built, and tested, it is finally time to assemble the final spacecraft. All of the spacecraft systems and instruments are be integrated into the final spacecraft body and there is substantial testing to make sure that all of the system requirements will be met. Once the spacecraft is assembled, tested and verified, it is time for the big event of Phase D, launch!

Lucy launchs out of Cape Canaveral, Florida, in October 2021. It has a 21 day launch period beginning on Oct 16. In order to get on the correct orbit, Lucy must launch early in the morning (at 6am local time) during a short window each day. If, for some reason, Lucy is unable to launch during this period, there will be another opportunity one year later.

After Lucy launches there are more engineering tests of all of the systems to make sure that Lucy is working as expected. This prepares it for success on its long, circuitous path to the Trojan Asteroids. This signals the transition to Phase E.

Phase E: Operations and Sustainment

All of the work designing, building and launching the mission comes to fruition in Phase E. During this phase the engineers, scientists, and other professionals on the Lucy team work together to see that the mission is successfully carried out. As a part of the operations plan, Lucy flies by the Earth twice for gravity assists and then heads out on its journey past one main belt asteroid and finally to the two Trojan swarms to visit 7 Trojan asteroids (one of which is a newly discovered satellite and two of which are a near equal mass binary). The full tour takes almost 12 years.

During each encounter Lucy is a buzz with activity. The closest approaches during each encounter only lasts a matter of hours and, during that time, all of the instruments must carry out a carefully orchestrated dance to collect as much information as possible about the target. After this high resolution data is collected, it takes months for all of the data to be transmitted back to Earth. Between the encounters Lucy also observes other objects from a distance, giving us a new perspective on many additional Solar System bodies.

After this 12 year main mission (and any possible extended missions) it is finally time to say goodbye to Lucy during the final Phase F.

Phase F: Closeout

The final stage of the mission is close-out. All good things must come to an end and once Lucy’s mission has come to an end it will be time to put the spacecraft into a long slumber. Even after the spacecraft is turned off, Lucy is on an orbit that will likely remain stable for more than 600,000 years. Thus Lucy will continue to orbit between the Earth and the Trojan asteroids far into the future. Maybe some day humans will spread out into the Solar System and collect the Lucy spacecraft as a relic of the early stages of human explorations out into our Solar System. If no humans interviene then in the far distance future the Lucy spacecraft will likely either be flung out of the Solar System or will crash into the Sun.

During Phase F the team makes sure that all data is archived, that all lessons learned are documented, and that the spacecraft is on a stable orbit that won’t allow it to hit any potentially habitable world (there is a less than 0.01% chance that Lucy will hit any planet at all). While this signals the end of the mission, scientists will continue to use the data collected by the Lucy mission to make discoveries for years to come.