SIMI VALLEY, California, October 17, 2021 - NASA’s Lucy spacecraft successfully lifted off aboard an Atlas V 401 from Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on October 16, 2021 at 5:34 am EDT, kicking off its journey to explore several Jupiter trojan asteroids. The Space Navigation and Flight Dynamics (SNAFD) practice of KinetX serves as the navigation team for the Lucy mission as part of the flight dynamics system lead by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The KinetX team completed launch navigation operations with a successful determination of Lucy’s post-launch trajectory. Launch operations serves as the first flight test of the navigation system, and requires near real-time processing of launch vehicle information and spacecraft navigation data to estimate the spacecraft’s past and future path. It is critical that the navigation team quickly and accurately determine the post-launch trajectory, as it is used to acquire and maintain a communication link between the ground antennas and the Lucy spacecraft. KinetX’ timely navigation operations have resulted in a successful acquisition of the Lucy spacecraft and a stable estimate of the trajectory, which will be monitored throughout Lucy’s next post-launch cruise phase.
KinetX has worked alongside partners at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), Lockheed Martin Space, and other institutions to develop a robust navigation system that addresses the unique challenges of Lucy operations. KinetX has supported the development and verification of Lucy’s complex trajectory, which includes two Earth gravity assists (EGAs) in 2022 and 2024, a flyby of main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson in 2025, flybys of Jupiter Trojan asteroids Eurybates (and moon Queta), Polymele, Leucus and Orus in 2027-2028, a final EGA in 2030, and a final flyby of Jupiter Trojan binary asteroid pair Patroclus-Menoetius in 2033. In addition to trajectory design support, KinetX has established and will operate a navigation system comprised of orbit determination, optical navigation, maneuver design, and trajectory re-optimization. To successfully navigate Lucy along its unique trajectory, KinetX will perform orbit determination using a combination of radio metric data acquired by NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) and optical navigation images of the targeted Trojan asteroids captured using cameras on-board the Lucy spacecraft. The radio metric data provides measurements of the range and velocity of the spacecraft relative to the DSN antennas on Earth, while the optical navigation images provide measurements of Lucy’s position relative to the intended asteroid targets. These data allow the team to estimate Lucy’s past trajectory and predict its future trajectory, which further allows the team to re-optimize the trajectory if necessary, and design and execute maneuvers to redirect Lucy along its intended course.
KinetX’ Lucy navigation team is comprised of deep space navigation veterans, and although KinetX has performed launch navigation operations for several interplanetary NASA missions, it is important that the team extensively practice ahead of each launch to ensure success. In preparation for the Lucy launch, the team performed several operational readiness tests to exercise nominal and contingency scenarios, allowing the team to be equipped with solutions to unexpected issues on launch day. These tests have occurred over the course of the navigation system development, beginning as early as 2019 and culminating in full, final launch rehearsals this year. These readiness tests, coupled with KinetX’ extensive experience, have provided the groundwork that ultimately led to the team’s successful Lucy launch navigation operations.
Dale Stanbridge, KinetX’ Lucy Navigation Team Chief, explains the team’s preparations, challenges and accomplishments in the following post-launch status report: “Spacecraft launches are an all-hands-on-deck moment, where unforeseen events can unfold quickly. Our navigation team, with members from each of our KinetX missions, ran a variety of timed launch simulations in the weeks prior to launch to prepare ourselves to respond quickly and correctly as a team to whatever we may encounter. The 3:34 AM MDT launch meant that the first shift had to be sharp despite staying up all night and being under pressure, in order to deliver a post-launch trajectory to be used for pointing for our second DSN tracking contact. The second shift picked up seamlessly from the first shift to refine the modeling and deliver our second trajectory ten hours later. Both of these trajectories were of high quality and resulted in near-perfect antenna pointing and a reliable communications link to the spacecraft. Our success was a direct result of the preparation, professionalism and teamwork of the Lucy Launch Navigation Team.”
KinetX is excited to continue serving as the navigation team for Lucy as it continues its mission to the Jupiter Trojan asteroids. The team will continue monitoring Lucy’s trajectory and determine whether a trajectory correction maneuver (TCM) will be required to maintain its desired course in the coming months. The KinetX navigation team will also begin assisting with calibration of several vehicle components including the thrusters and optical navigation cameras, and begin initial flight preparations for the mission’s next major milestone – Lucy’s first Earth gravity assist in October 2022.
ABOUT KINETX AEROSPACE
KinetX Aerospace is a trusted and innovative engineering services and product company focused on leading, developing, and demonstrating innovative solutions to global and space-based challenges. KinetX has earned a first-rate reputation for providing innovative engineering, software, and hardware solutions for a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, telecommunications, space navigation, and data analytics. KinetX maintains CMMI Level 3 Dev (SW Development) and ISO9001/AS9100D (SYS-HW Development) certifications as a testament to our dedication to providing quality products and services.
A privately held company formed in 1992, KinetX is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona with additional offices in Simi Valley, California and Littleton, Colorado. With world-class expertise in space navigation, flight dynamics, operations, and systems engineering, KinetX is the first private company qualified by NASA for deep space navigation. The KinetX Space Navigation and Flight Dynamics (SNAFD) team has navigated spacecraft on complex planetary exploration missions including MESSENGER, New Horizons, OSIRIS-REx, Lucy, and LunaH-Map. KinetX also specializes in the design, development, and operation of large-scale space systems including MUOS, Iridium, SGSS, and NorthStar. Our technical edge combined with our small business focus and flexibility has resulted in long-lasting successful relationships with our customers.
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls