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OSIRIS-REX (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security - Regolith Explorer)

    Atlas V Team Conducts Wet Dress Rehearsal

    Atlas V rolled out of the VIF at Pad 41 for a wet dress rehearsal, for the upcoming launch of OSIRIS-REx.

    The booster and Centaur upper stage of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V vent gaseous propellant during a "wet dress rehearsal" test at Space Launch Complex 41 on Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The rocket will boost NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on its way to the asteroid Bennu. Short for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, …

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    OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Encapsulated, Atlas V Rocket Tanking Test Planned

    The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, foreground, is prepared for encapsulation in its payload fairing, visible in the background

    NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft comes one step closer to launch today as it is sealed inside the two-piece payload fairing that will protect it during the critical early minutes of liftoff. This process, called encapsulation, is taking place inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) at Kennedy Space Center, where OSIRIS-REx has undergone prelaunch processing since …

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    Atlas V, Centaur Upper Stage at SLC-41

    ULA's Atlas V Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) being lifted and stationed onto stand at Pad 41 for the OSIRIS-REx upcoming launch.

    Pictured: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket first stage booster is lifted into position at Space Launch Complex 41, located at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Aug. 8. The Centaur upper stage was hoisted atop the booster today. The vehicle will boost NASA's Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, or …

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    Asteroid-Bound Spacecraft and its Ride Take Strides Toward September Launch

    OSIRIS-REx Thermal Blanket Closeout

    NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft – and the rocket that will carry it into space, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V – are making significant strides toward launch, planned for Sept. 8. Inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians have installed thermal blankets around the spacecraft (pictured above), culminating …

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    Asteroid Sampler Comm System Checks Complete

    A spacecraft designed to sample an asteroid and return that sample to Earth will depend greatly on its communications systems with Earth to relay everything from its health and status to scientific findings from making a detailed survey of the asteroid known as Bennu. That's why engineers from NASA's Deep Space Network spent the past …

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    OSIRIS-REx Processed for Asteroid Sample Return Mission

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    At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, preparations are underway to launch a mission to an asteroid that may hold clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of water and organic molecules found on Earth. The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security–Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, spacecraft arrived at the spaceport from …

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    OSIRIS-REx Goes for a Spin

    A spin test being performed on the OSIRIS-REx inside the PHSF.

    In the image above, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft rotates on a spin table during a weight and center of gravity test May 24 inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. An overhead crane carefully returned the spacecraft to its work stand May 26 (right) to continue prelaunch processing. OSIRIS-REx, stands for …

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    OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Begins Prelaunch Processing Ahead of Asteroid Mission

    NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is revealed after its protective cover is removed inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

    NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday evening aboard an Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft. OSIRIS-REx stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security – Regolith Explorer. This will be the first U.S. mission to sample an asteroid, retrieve at least two ounces of surface material and return it to …

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