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TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)

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T-7 Minutes and Counting

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch NASA's TESS spacecraft stands at Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch NASA's TESS spacecraft stands at Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set to launch NASA’s TESS spacecraft stands at Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Image credit: NASA

NASA’s TESS spacecraft is already running on internal power and the rocket will transition to internal power in the next few minutes. There are several other significant milestones coming up between now and launch — the rocket’s engines will be chilled and its onboard propellant tanks pressurized, and the gantry-like strongback structure will be retracted from the rocket’s side.