Successful launch of NASA's Lucy probe on a 12-year journey to study the Trojan asteroids.
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Historical mission record
This page records Atlas V 401 | Lucy and its reported outcome: Launch Successful. The date above is a historical record.
Source record updated . This is a source update, not a confirmed launch time.
Check the source: Lucy: The First Mission to the Trojan Asteroids ↗ · Launch Library ↗
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Mission status
Launch Successful
Status reported by the mission data provider.
LAUNCH SITECape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Mission
Lucy is the first mission to explore and study Trojan asteroids. The Trojans are a type of asteroids that orbit the Sun in two groups, in front of and behind Jupiter in its orbit around our star. Since these asteroids have been in such stable orbits for billions of years, they are of great interest as remnants of early Solar System. Lucy is a NASA mission led by NASA Goddard and Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. Over the course of 12 years, Lucy will fly by seven different Trojan asteroids and also one main belt asteroid. The complex trajectory to visit all targets will include several Earth gravity assists.
- Launch vehicle
- Atlas V 401
- Mission type
- Robotic Exploration
- Destination orbit
- Heliocentric N/A
- Launch pad
- Space Launch Complex 41
- Provider
- United Launch Alliance
- Programs
- Discovery Program
The vehicle
Published configuration and flight history.
Launch vehicle
Atlas V 401
An Atlas V with a 4 meter diameter fairing, no boosters and a single centaur upper stage engine.
- Height
- 58.3 m
- Diameter
- 3.8 m
- Stages
- 2
- Recorded launches
- 41
- First flight
- 2002-08-21
Recorded timing
This is a mission record, not an upcoming calendar appointment.
1h 15m windowPublished target
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Target ·
The target marker shows its position within the published window. The schedule may change before launch.
Launch site & orbit
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
The mission in perspective
Launch site
DestinationHeliocentric N/A
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Coverage & sources
Links supplied by the mission data provider.
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