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Psyche

    Live Coverage for Psyche Begins

    A Psyche mission graphic is displayed on the historic countdown clock as the Sun rises at Kennedy Space Center's NASA News Center in Florida on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. NASA's Psyche spacecraft, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, soared into the sky after lifting off from Kennedy's Launch Complex 39A at 10:19 a.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 13. The Psyche mission will study a metal-rich asteroid with the same name, located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This is NASA's first mission to study an asteroid that has more metal than rock or ice. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration – NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment – which will be the first test of laser communications beyond the Moon.

    Good morning, and welcome to live launch coverage from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida of the mission to Psyche, a metal-rich world! Psyche is the first mission to explore an asteroid with a surface that likely contains substantial amounts of metal rather than rock or ice. This also will be NASA's Launch Services Program's …

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    Weather 40% Favorable for Friday Psyche Launch

    A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Psyche spacecraft onboard is seen at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Psyche mission, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

    Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's 45th Weather Squadron predict a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions for the launch of NASA's Psyche mission at 10:19 a.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 13, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Showers and storms are expected at …

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    Weather Delays NASA’s Psyche Launch, Now Targeting Oct. 13

    NASA and SpaceX are standing down from the Oct. 12 launch of the agency's Psyche mission due to unfavorable weather conditions. NASA and SpaceX are now targeting launch at 10:19 a.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 13, from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Live launch coverage without commentary will begin at 9:15 a.m. …

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    NASA EDGE To Host the Psyche Rollout Show on NASA TV

    A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket with the Psyche spacecraft onboard is seen at Launch Complex 39A as preparations continue for the Psyche mission, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

    Join the hosts of NASA EDGE today from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A and Hangar AE for the Psyche Rollout Show, airing live on NASA TV and YouTube at 5 p.m. EDT. The hosts of NASA EDGE will take a unique look at NASA's Psyche mission and the agency's first primary launch of a spacecraft …

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    Launch Readiness Review Concludes, Psyche ‘Go’ for Launch

    NASA's Psyche spacecraft stands tall atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at Kennedy Space Center's historic Launch Complex 39A in Florida on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023.

    NASA will host a prelaunch news briefing today at 1 p.m. EDT, to discuss the Psyche mission. NASA and SpaceX completed a launch readiness review Tuesday, Oct. 10, resulting in a "go" for launch of the spacecraft that will study a metal-rich asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The prelaunch briefing will air …

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    Science Briefing on Tap Today for NASA’s Mission to Psyche

    Teams transport NASA's encapsulated Psyche spacecraft from the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Titusville to Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Oct. 6, 2023. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

    Officials from NASA, Arizona State University, and MIT will discuss the launch of Psyche and the Deep Space Optical Communications experiment during a science briefing at 12 p.m. EDT today. The media briefing will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube, and on the agency's website. The public may ask questions on social media during …

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    Weather 20% Favorable for Thursday’s Psyche Launch

    Weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's 45th Weather Squadron predict a 20% chance of favorable weather conditions for Thursday's launch, with the anvil cloud, cumulous cloud, and surface electric field rules being the primary weather concerns. SpaceX is targeting 10:16 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 12, to launch NASA's Psyche spacecraft atop its Falcon …

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    NASA’s Psyche Mission Advances to Launch Complex 39A

    Technicians encapsulate NASA's Psyche spacecraft in its payload fairings – the cone at the top of the rocket – at the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. Next, the spacecraft will move to SpaceX facilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Bound for a metal-rich asteroid of the same name, the Psyche mission is targeting Thursday, Oct. 12, to launch from Kennedy. Liftoff, atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, is targeted for 10:16 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A.

    In the early hours of Oct. 6, workers transported NASA's Psyche spacecraft to the SpaceX hangar at Launch Complex 39A at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in preparation for launch. Earlier in the week, technicians completed encapsulation of the spacecraft, along with the DSOC (Deep Space Optical Communications) technology demonstration, inside a clean room at …

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    NASA’s Psyche Mission Targeting Oct. 12 for Launch

    Psyche spacecraft, shown close to a colorful asteroid.

    NASA and SpaceX are now targeting Oct. 12 at 10:16 a.m. EDT for a Falcon Heavy launch of the Psyche mission from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The change allows the NASA team to complete verifications of the parameters used to control the Psyche spacecraft's nitrogen cold gas thrusters. These thrusters are …

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    NASA’s Psyche Moves Toward Liftoff

    Technicians connected NASA's Psyche spacecraft to the payload attach fitting inside the clean room at Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. This hardware allows Psyche to connect to the top of the rocket once secured inside the protective payload fairings. Psyche will lift off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket at 10:34 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 5, 2023, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Psyche spacecraft will travel nearly six years and about 2.2 billion miles (3.6 billion kilometers) to an asteroid of the same name, which is orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. Scientists believe Psyche could be part of the core of a planetesimal, likely made of iron-nickel metal, which can be studied from orbit to give researchers a better idea of what may make up Earth's core.

    Now that fueling and testing are complete, NASA's Psyche spacecraft is ready to meet its ride – a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. Launch is now targeting 10:34 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 5 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida after optimizing the trajectory for the mission to study a metal-rich asteroid. …

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