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Psyche

    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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    NASA Invites Digital Content Creators to Cover Psyche Launch

    The Psyche mission is scheduled to lift off at 10:38 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 5, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

    Digital content creators are invited to register to attend the launch of NASA's Psyche spacecraft and create content based on the experience. The Psyche mission will journey to a unique metal-rich asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche is scheduled to lift off at 10:38 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 5, on a …

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    Psyche Spacecraft Headed for Xenon Fueling

    NASA's Psyche spacecraft is crated and moved by truck to Astrotech Building 9 for xenon fueling.

    NASA's Psyche spacecraft took another step closer on its upcoming journey to a metal-rich asteroid of the same name. On Aug. 14, a team of technicians and engineers moved the spacecraft from Building 1 to Building 9 at Astrotech Space Operations facility near the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside Building 9, technicians will load …

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    Solar Arrays Successfully Installed on NASA’s Psyche Spacecraft

    Psyche Mission Poster

    NASA's Psyche spacecraft has completed another milestone. Solar arrays are now ready to power the spacecraft on a 2.5-billion-mile (4-billion-kilometer) journey to a metal-rich asteroid to help us learn more about planet formation. A team of engineers and technicians received, prepared, and installed the solar arrays on the spacecraft at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility …

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    The Road to October 2023: NASA’s Psyche Has an Updated Mission Plan

    NASA's Psyche mission, which will explore a metal-rich asteroid of the same name, is on track to launch in October 2023 after a one-year delay to complete critical testing. The launch period will open Oct. 5 and close Oct. 25. The asteroid, which lies in the outer portion of the main asteroid belt between Mars …

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