Yesterday’s launch of the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) space probe went perfect. However, after it separated from the upper stage of the Minotaur V rocket and its gyroscopic system that uses reaction wheels was set in motion to stabilize it, there was a small problem that led to an automatic shutdown. The problem has already been resolved.
Like many space probes, LADEE is also equipped with reaction wheels to allow it to spin, or to stop spinning, without using its thrusters. Using the energy produced by its solar panels saves its fuel for other types of maneuvers and at the same time allows it to make very precise movements.
Yesterday, when the reaction wheels of the LADEE spacecraft were set in motion to stabilize it, the onboard computer shut them down. In the press conference held after the launch, they talked of a higher than expected use of power that triggered the internal protection systems.
In the following hours, the engineers of the team in charge of LADEE’s mission operations at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, examined the data received from the probe. Their conclusion is that actually there are no faults but the protection systems have been programmed in a manner all too prudent. Following that assessment, they sent the LADEE spacecraft the commands needed to force the reactivation of the reaction wheels.
Despite all the tests carried out before the launch, the conditions faced by a spacecraft during the real mission are always a bit different from those foreseen and simulated. In the case of LADEE spacecraft, the arrival in lunar orbit is scheduled for early October so the mission engineers still have some time time to decide how to modify the protection system to prevent further problems safeguarding at the same time the safety of the spacecraft.
Apart from this problem, the launch of the LADEE spacecraft was spectacular. It was the first time a rocket was launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) and because it was night in the area it was possible to see it in all the USA east coast.
NASA created a Flickr group specifically to collect photos of the launch of the LADEE spacecraft taken by people who were in the area. The number of photos put online and many others posted around the Internet show that despite budget cuts and other problems there are still a lot of people who are interested in space missions.
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