The European Space Agency's Euclid Mission: An Update...

While we await a more detailed list of felonies, and the Tuesday arraignment in Miami, I thought we'd talk a little bit about why space programs, in the main, are so often successful (in contrast to the mode of operation Tangerine as followed his entire life).

They are so often successful because they chase down and follow every detail, trouble-shooting all issues -- in any number of pre-planning sessions and simulations, either via software, or actual mechanical mockups. And there is always a second team of very capable scientists, duplicating the work of the original team, and pressure testing, and error checking it.

This process for the Euclid mission -- which is launching to look for discoveries in dark matter, in the deep interstellar Universe -- is now identifying issues that might arise with not just one, but two sets of redundant thrusters. Here's that story:

. . .Currently about halfway through the Euclid simulations campaign, the key focus in the Main Control Room is the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) and spacecraft commissioning.

These are the two most critical moments in a mission’s life; as it wakes up after the rigours of launch, makes its first manoeuvres towards its target destination and as its instruments are commissioned. . . .

[The team] broke not just one, but two sets of thrusters on the Euclid spacecraft simulator. It was up to the Flight Control and Flight Dynamics Teams to decide which they could and should use.

“All of a sudden, a suspected mechanical failure meant one of Euclid’s attitude thrusters was stuck shut, producing no force at all, forcing us to use the backup set of thrusters. But then, the orbit control thrusters, part of that backup set, began behaving strangely, one overperforming by 10% and the other underperforming by the same amount,” recalls Tiago Loureiro, Euclid Flight Operations Director. . . .

It would be unlucky for something like this to happen for real, but it’s certainly not impossible. Whether it’s Euclid’s thrusters, solar arrays or any number of other critical spacecraft components, the teams’ ability to keep cool yet decisive in the midst of a serious problem, to know who to call in and rely on at what time, will be vital for mission success. . . .

Euclid’s exceptionally sensitive 1.2-metre telescope will capture light that is ten billion years old, originating from the early Universe and only now reaching us. In doing this, it will shed light on a simple question for which we still don’t have an answer: what is the Universe made of? Amazingly, this is today a cosmic mystery. . . .

Welp. Now you know -- this is the way we (as responsible scientists) avoid ending up as a grotesque tragic-comic mess (a la Tangerine). We science the sh!t outta' stuff. Grin. Have a great weekend!

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