Achieving Mission Success: A Comprehensive Look at the Verification and Validation Approach of the Psyche Spacecraft for NASA’s Discovery Program

On October 13, 2023, the Psyche spacecraft embarked on its interplanetary journey, launching from the Kennedy Space Center atop a Falcon Heavy Rocket. Notably, Psyche marks the pioneering use of SPT-140 Hall thrusters for propulsion in interplanetary space, complemented by a secondary cold gas propulsion system for scenarios such as launch separation, faulted conditions, and counterbalancing the momentum of the electric propulsion thrusters. This paper delves into the system-level verification and validation campaign for the mission, extending beyond the Systems Integration Review (SIR). It encompasses spacecraft integration, environmental verification, the launch and cruise validation program, the decision to postpone the launch by a year to complete the guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) system V&V program, and the transition to operations, with deferred verification and validation for GNC orbital operations capabilities. One primary challenge faced during the V&V campaign was the absence of simulation support equipment to use with the high-fidelity flight vehicle to replicate how GNC algorithms would navigate the space environment. The test program had to strike a balance between the hardware-rich flight vehicle test program and the engineering model and simulation environment of the system testbed capable of running additional simulations required for closed-loop GNC control testing. This paper will provide a detailed account of the approach taken to validate mission operations, addressing the challenges and risks encountered. It will also address the unique challenges of validating the spacecraft hardware and software to work with the operation team’s unique approach to low thrust, deep space mission operation of an all-electric spacecraft during interplanetary cruise.