NASA's Psyche Delayed Launch Due to Software Glitch, Affects Two Probes That Were Supposed to Ride Along

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 11 June 2022, 11:06 am

The launch of NASA's Psyche asteroid mission was delayed due to a software glitch. Now, the two small probes supposed to be hitching a ride are forced to revise their plans.

NASA's Psyche Launch Delay

Psyche is a probe designed by NASA to explore the unusual metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche. Due to the glitch, it is currently undergoing preparations at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to Gizmodo.

Psyche is the primary payload on the Falcon Heavy rocket, and the NASA small satellite mission Janus will launch two spacecraft as secondary payloads, according to CNET.

After their Earth flybys, the Janus spacecraft will fly by different binary asteroids, namely 1996 FG3 and 1991 VH. However, on June 8, the mission's principal investigator announced that the plan was no longer possible.

Dan Scheeres from the University of Colorado talked about the delay at a meeting of NASA's Small Bodies Assessment Group or SBAG.

Also Read: NASA New Mission: Visit '16 Psyche,' Most Expensive Asteroid in the Solar System

According to Scheeres, the mission's launch is moved to Sept. 20 so NASA will have more time to test the spacecraft's software.

Because of the change in launch date, Scheeres said it is no longer possible for the Janus spacecraft to perform the Earth flybys with Falcon Heavy.

The only way for a Janus spacecraft to reach the 1996 FG3 binary asteroid target is if the mission is moved to Oct. 7 or Oct. 10, but that will be too near the end of the new launch window for Psyche, which is scheduled for Oct. 11.

Scheeres added that they do not have a say regarding the launch dates or the targeting of the launch vehicle, as it will all depend on NASA and when the space agency believes that the spacecraft is ready.

Looking for Alternatives

Janus' mission team is now looking for alternative asteroids that the spacecraft could fly by if it can't go to its original asteroids, according to Space.com.

Scheeres admitted that they had already found multiple asteroids that Janus could visit, depending on the day that the spacecraft was launched.

However, he did not name the new asteroid destinations. Scheeres did reveal that some of the asteroids that they are considering violate the mission constraints like flyby speed of communications data rate, so it will take more work to go there.

Also, Janus' plans will depend on the ability of Psyche to launch during the new launch schedule. Carol Polanskey, the co-investigator on the Psyche mission, said at the SBAG meeting that they are continuously upgrading the simulation environment that is needed for software testing.

Polanskey revealed that they are using a new JPL flight software architecture that is blended with Maxar simulation capabilities to build the Psyche spacecraft bus. Although the process is challenging, she said that the team is putting a lot of resources into fixing the problem.

The issue with the software should be resolved soon, but Polanskey did not say any specific period. The team is working on getting it ready before the second launch opportunity.

If Psyche and Janus miss the second window, the mission will be moved to 2023.