Lucy

Meet Lucy, a NASA spacecraft that will embark on a 12-year mission to study seven asteroids.

After launch, Lucy will use two gravity-assist flybys of Earth in 2022 and 2024 to send itself first to the asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson in the asteroid belt in 2025 and then onward to Jupiter’s L4 Lagrange Point.

Here, the largest planet in the solar system has trapped several asteroids in a stable part of its orbit around the Sun. Thus, these asteroids share Jupiter’s orbit... but only because Jupiter has forced them to.

The trapped asteroids are called trojans, and Lucy will visit two sets of them in two of Jupiter’s Lagrange Points: L4 and L5. The L4 and L5 Lagrange Points precede and follow Jupiter 60 degrees in front of and behind the planet, respectively, along its orbital path.

Lucy will first visit the L4 location, arriving in 2027. The trojans here have been collectively named the “Greek camp,” and Lucy will fly by four of them, including one with a moon.

Lucy will then fire its main engine to return to Earth for a gravity assist flyby in 2031. The return home will allow Lucy to efficiently alter its trajectory to send itself to Jupiter’s L5 location.

The L5 group of trojans has been named the “Trojan camp.” Here, Lucy will fly by the binary asteroid 617 Patroclus and Menoetius in 2033.

This will officially end Lucy’s mission. But its orbit will be stable for six years, and NASA has not ruled out a potential mission extension if Lucy is still in good condition.

Photo: Lucy. Credit: United Launch Alliance

Atlas V - general

This is Atlas V, the workhorse of United Launch Alliance's fleet.

The rocket is a mix of Russian and American technology and uses the Russian RD-180 as the first stage engine.

It is one of the most versatile rockets in the world with 20 possible configurations -- though only half have flown.

Stats

Height: 58.3 m (191 ft) with payload fairing, 52.4 m (172 ft) with Starliner.

Diameter: 3.81 m (12.5 ft)

Mass: 590,000 kg (1,300,000 lb)

Stages: 2 (3 with Star 48 upper stage)

Developed in the mid- to late-1990s, it is the fifth and last major version of the Atlas rocket which began flying in 1957.

Lockheed Martin designed and built Atlas V as part of the U.S. government's 1994 plan to create an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program for national security missions.

The two companies with EELV rockets, Lockheed Martin with Atlas V and Boeing with Delta IV, merged in 2006 to form United Launch Alliance (ULA).

Pricing of the Atlas V has varied greatly over the years, with a basic Atlas V 401 (no boosters and a single-engine second stage) costing anywhere from the high-$90 million range to $163 million USD in the 2000s and early 2010s.

Sweeping price reductions have occurred once SpaceX began directly competing against ULA in the mid-2010s.

Atlas V's safety and success records are unparalleled, with a 100% mission success rating from a customer point of view.

Atlas V 401

This mission will use the Atlas V 401 variant - with a four-meter payload fairing (4), zero side-mounted solid rocket boosters (0), and a single-engine Centaur upper stage (1).

Photo credit: NASA/Tony Gray and Sandra Joseph

Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) is a significant launch site located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida. Originally built in the 1960s, SLC-41 was designed to support the Titan III and Titan IV rocket programs. Throughout its history, the pad has been used for various missions, including the deployment of military and reconnaissance satellites. A notable launch from SLC-41 was the Cassini spacecraft mission, which began its journey to Saturn in 1997.

In the early 2000s, SLC-41 was repurposed to support the Atlas V rocket, operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA). This transition involved extensive upgrades to the pad’s infrastructure and the installation of new ground support equipment to accommodate the Atlas V. These modifications ensured that SLC-41 could meet the requirements of modern space missions.

Under ULA’s management, SLC-41 has hosted a range of important launches, including the Mars Science Laboratory mission, which successfully landed the Curiosity rover on Mars in August 2012, and the launch of GPS III satellites, enhancing global positioning capabilities. The pad has also supported Boeing's CST-100 Starliner capsule, which is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The Starliner capsule, designed to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station, has been launched from SLC-41 to support crewed missions.

Looking to the future, SLC-41 is set to support ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket. The Vulcan Centaur is intended to replace the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, marking a new era in ULA’s launch capabilities with enhanced performance and cost-efficiency. The pad’s infrastructure will be further updated to accommodate this next-generation rocket.

Lagrange points are positions in space where objects tend to stay when placed there.

These points in space can be used by spacecraft to reduce the fuel consumption needed to remain in position.

Large planets, like Jupiter, can trap asteroids (called trojans) in the two Lagrange Points that immediately precede and follow the planet in its orbit. These two points are the L4 and L5 locations which Lucy will visit.

Jupiter by far has the most number of known trojans (over 7,000 have been cataloged) in the solar system. However, Earth, Mars, Uranus, and Neptune all have trojans as well.

Photo Credit: ESA