Lucy Is Hoisted Up Atop Its Ride To Space

The payload fairing containing NASA’s Lucy spacecraft is hoisted up at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Oct. 7, 2021.
It will be lowered onto the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V Centaur second stage. Lucy is scheduled to launch no earlier than Saturday, Oct. 16, on the ULA Atlas V 401 rocket from Launch Pad 41. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, America’s premier multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch.

Over its 12-year primary mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids, flying by one asteroid in the solar system’s main belt and seven Trojan asteroids. Additionally, Lucy’s path will circle back to Earth three times for gravity assists, making it the first spacecraft ever to return to the vicinity of Earth from the outer solar system.

KSC-20211007-PH-ILW01_0218 Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson larger image