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SpaceX never ceases to amaze: the next stop is the asteroid Psyche.
NASA announced the postponement of the launch date of the Psyche spacecraft to October 12. This will be the first interplanetary mission for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. The launch is scheduled from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This will be the eighth mission for SpaceX's powerful launch device, which debuted in February 2018, and the first mission for NASA.
The launch window will last until October 25. Due to the possibility of a government shutdown on October 1, NASA and SpaceX may need additional deadlines. If government activity is suspended, NASA will probably ask for permission to continue the launch, considering it a vital operation. However, there is no guarantee that such permission will be granted.
This isn't the first delay for the Psyche mission. The launch was originally planned for last year, but was postponed due to problems found in the spacecraft's flight software.
After launch, Psyche will head for its namesake object, an unusual 280-km-wide metal object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at its destination in 2029. Scientists believe that Psyche may be the exposed core of a protoplanet whose outer layers were torn off by one or more impacts.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the first images," Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, said at a press conference earlier this month. "They will be amazing when we finally see what this metallic asteroid looks like up close."
The Falcon Heavy is the second most powerful rocket in service today, after NASA's space launch system. To date, Falcon Heavy has been launched seven times, most recently on July 26.
NASA announced the postponement of the launch date of the Psyche spacecraft to October 12. This will be the first interplanetary mission for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. The launch is scheduled from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This will be the eighth mission for SpaceX's powerful launch device, which debuted in February 2018, and the first mission for NASA.
The launch window will last until October 25. Due to the possibility of a government shutdown on October 1, NASA and SpaceX may need additional deadlines. If government activity is suspended, NASA will probably ask for permission to continue the launch, considering it a vital operation. However, there is no guarantee that such permission will be granted.
This isn't the first delay for the Psyche mission. The launch was originally planned for last year, but was postponed due to problems found in the spacecraft's flight software.
After launch, Psyche will head for its namesake object, an unusual 280-km-wide metal object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at its destination in 2029. Scientists believe that Psyche may be the exposed core of a protoplanet whose outer layers were torn off by one or more impacts.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the first images," Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, said at a press conference earlier this month. "They will be amazing when we finally see what this metallic asteroid looks like up close."
The Falcon Heavy is the second most powerful rocket in service today, after NASA's space launch system. To date, Falcon Heavy has been launched seven times, most recently on July 26.
