ESCAPADE Timeline

2024
Oct 2024

Launch!

ESCAPADE is set to launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket in Q3 of 2024!
2023
Feb 2023

Instruments Come Together!

It’s Instrument Suite I&T! Instrument teams are hard at work assembling, testing, disassembling, cleaning, retesting.  Here’s EESA-e instrument lead Phyllis Whittlesey hard at work.

2022
Oct 2022

Critical Design Review

After some challenges over the summer following changing the separation and propulsion systems, the team at UCB and RL completed a successful CDR. From the Independent Review Board:

The Escapade independent Mission CDR demonstrated stunning progress since the Spacecraft CDR in June.  All the actions from SCDR were addressed.   The entire independent review board, as well as the NASA reviewers, were impressed with the professionality and thoroughness of the presentation at this MCDR. This was a fantastic review!

May 2022

New Propulsion System


New Zealand COVID delays impacted qualification schedule of original system; inadequate time remained to resolve issues found.
Replaced with off-the-shelf solution from Arianne Space.
New design brought up to CDR maturity, peer reviewed

2021
Aug 2021
2020
Nov 2020

Rocket Lab Selected as ESCAPADE Spacecraft Contractor

Press Release: Space company Rocket Lab plans to build new Mars spacecraft

The University of California-Berkeley has chosen California-based space company Rocket Lab to build two spacecraft for one of the least expensive interplanetary missions in history, a scientific investigation of the Martian magnetosphere. Read more.

Sep 2020

ESCAPADE demanifested from Psyche launch, Phase B Extension

With Psyche’s launch targets unviable for ESCAPADE, we were removed from the Psyche launch manifest and provided an additional 9 months and $1.8 m to redesign the mission to be as flexible as possible in terms of launch.

Article: ESCAPADE demanifested from Psyche launch

 

Aug 2020

Preliminary Design Review

New and very different launch targets for the Psyche mission announced in May 2020 led to a scramble to redesign the ESCAPADE mission, stretching design margins to breaking point.

Result: failed PDR :-(.

2019
Nov 2019

System Requirements Review

Before we realized EESA had to be body-mounted

Jun 2019

ESCAPADE selection

NASA Planetary Director Lori Glaze calls Rob: ESCAPADE has been selected for Phase A/B study!  

Rob looking goofy in promo video.

Selection Day Videos on Twitter

NASA Press Release

KRON4 Bay Area News

2018
Jul 2018
Mar 2018
2017
Jun 2017
2016
Oct 2016