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So Juno approaches seeking her gravity assist. During the course of the maneuver several on-board systems shall be powered up - in all probability they are nominal, having already been checked-out after launch.

Assuming, say, some new algorithm may have been developed, or some instrument may be made more efficient by a code update, Juno's mission control could opt to schedule such software update during the course of the maneuver.

  • Are any software updates scheduled for Juno during the maneuver (either before or after perigee)?
  • What is the process of performing an instruction update on spacecraft instruments?
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During the maneuver? Certainly not. You don't mess with the spacecraft configuration around or anywhere near critical events unless it is absolutely necessary.

Modern spacecraft are all designed to permit their flight software to be updated. A complete image of the new flight software is uploaded the spacecraft. The image's integrity is verified, and then it is set to be the load used on just the next reboot. The previous image is kept in place in case you need to fall back on it. A subsequent reboot will go back to the old one as a safety net. You boot on the new image, check it out, and if all is well, you make the new image the default for future reboots.

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    $\begingroup$ I'm sure if they are going to do it, it'll be sometime in the next month or so, close enough to be useful, and not during a critical time. $\endgroup$
    – PearsonArtPhoto ♦
    Oct 9, 2013 at 22:24

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