WASHINGTON — NASA is on track to clear the Europa Clipper spacecraft for a launch attempt next month after concluding that electronics on the spacecraft can handle the planned mission profile.
NASA announced Aug. 28 that the mission team competed testing of transistors used in the power supply system on the spacecraft. “Analysis of the results suggests the transistors can support the baseline mission,” the agency said in a brief statement.
That was in question as recently as July, when NASA announced that testing of the transistors showed some were likely to fail in the high-radiation environment created by Jupiter’s powerful magnetic field. At the time, NASA said they would continue with launch preparations while studying how that might affect the mission.
“We’re going to continue to charge towards the launch as long as we can, look at all of the options and make a decision,” Nicky Fox, NASA associate administrator for science, said in a mid-July interview.
NASA did not elaborate on the testing results, but project officials sounded confident that the mission can proceed into final preparations for launch. “This was a huge effort, done with our usual exacting approach and high standards. The @EuropaClipper science is so worth it, and we want to be sure we can get every bit of it!” posted Laurie Leshin, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, on social media.
“I am thankful to the team who has been working tirelessly to conduct these extensive tests over the past few months. I look forward to the next major milestone when we determine if the project is go to proceed to launch,” said Fox.
That next major milestone is a review called Key Decision Point E, where NASA will determine if Europa Clipper can proceed into final launch preparations. That review is planned for Sept. 9.
Europa Clipper is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy during a three-week window that opens Oct. 10. The spacecraft, after performing flybys of Mars and Earth, will enter orbit around Jupiter in 2030 and perform dozens of close flybys of Europa, the Jovian moon that has a subsurface ocean that is potentially habitable.