![]() ![]() An artist’s concept of the Psyche spacecraft. Lessons learned from JPL’s Psyche missteps will be applied to other NASA missions such as Europa Clipper and Mars Sample Return, Fox said. As we move forward, we will work with JPL to ensure these implemented changes continue to be prioritized to position Psyche and the other missions in JPL’s portfolio for success,” she said. Nicola Fox, NASA’s associate administrator over the Science Mission Directorate, said she is pleased with NASA’s response since the mission management shortcomings came to light. And we also wanted to look toward those missions that were earliest in their development.” And in doing that, we wanted to look within the planetary portfolios and stuff where the Psyche mission resided. It was clear that we wanted to try and alleviate some of the stress and stressors and pressures out at JPL in a way that headquarters could have some control over. She said while there were some budget concerns, staffing issues at JPL were the main reason behind VERITAS’ delay. “No one wants to delay any of the missions and particularly a mission that was actually doing well along their planned schedule,” said Lori Glaze, director of the Planetary Science Division within the directorate. NASA’s Science Mission Directorate made the call to delay VERITAS based on the independent review board findings. “Some of those may have gone off to work on VERITAS had they launched.” “It didn’t ramp it up as expected and Psyche stayed ramped up longer,” said JPL Director Laurie Leshin, who said Psyche has about 160 people working on it still. Launch costs to use the Falcon Heavy were separate. Before the delay, the mission cost had topped $850 million for the development, operation and science. 5-23 and the probe itself has been in Florida since last April, but additional work was required to make it ready that forced it to miss the 2022 launch opportunities. But because it missed the launch window last year, this year’s launch, if it goes well, means it won’t arrive at the asteroid until 2029. ![]() Psyche was supposed to launch last summer so that it could rendezvous with a metal-rich asteroid also named Psyche that lies between Mars and Jupiter in 2026. “We were impressed by the results we observed that were well beyond our high expectations.” “The recognizes that our JPL institution findings or recommendations were challenging and really require considerable time to complete the required corrective actions,” said retired aerospace executive A. The leader of that review says the team has been impressed with NASA’s reaction as the launch is back on track for an October liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center. Fallout from last year’s delay to the launch of the Psyche asteroid probe led to an independent review of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and its handling of the mission. ![]()
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