{"id":767901,"date":"2023-10-04T18:29:46","date_gmt":"2023-10-04T22:29:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=767901"},"modified":"2023-10-04T18:29:46","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T22:29:46","slug":"nasa-sets-coverage-for-psyche-spacecraft-launch-to-metal-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceweekly.com\/?p=767901","title":{"rendered":"NASA Sets Coverage for Psyche Spacecraft Launch to Metal World"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Technicians<\/figure>
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Technicians connected NASA\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s core.<\/div>\n
NASA<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for its Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for 10:16 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 12, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<\/p>\n

Live launch coverage without commentary will begin at 9:15 a.m. EDT on the NASA Television media channel. The live launch broadcast with commentary will begin at 9:30 a.m., and will air on YouTube<\/a>, X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, Twitch<\/a>, Daily Motion<\/a>, the NASA app<\/a>, and the agency\u2019s website<\/a>. NASA TV\u2019s public channel will be airing coverage<\/a> of a spacewalk outside the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

Prior to launch, NASA will hold a mission and science briefing at 12 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10, and a prelaunch news conference at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 11. Watch coverage on NASA TV, the NASA app, and the agency\u2019s website at: <\/p>\n

https:\/\/nasa.gov\/nasatv<\/a><\/p>\n

NASA is sending the spacecraft to an asteroid named Psyche, which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter, to learn how Earth and other rocky planets formed. This will be the first mission to an asteroid with substantial amounts of metal, as previous missions have explored asteroids made mostly of rock or ice. The asteroid Psyche<\/a> may be part of the interior of a planetesimal, a building block of a rocky planet. By studying it, scientists seek to determine whether the asteroid was a planetary core.<\/p>\n

Attached to the Psyche spacecraft is a technology demonstration, NASA\u2019s Deep Space Optical Communications<\/a>. This experiment will test the ability of lasers to transmit data at increased rates beyond the Moon. High-bandwidth optical communications to Earth will be tested during the first two years of the spacecraft\u2019s journey to Psyche. While the optical communications demonstration is hosted by Psyche, its transceiver will not relay Psyche mission data.<\/p>\n

Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):<\/p>\n

Tuesday, Oct. 10<\/strong><\/p>\n

9:30 a.m. \u2013 One-on-one media interviews at Kennedy with various mission subject-matter experts. Sign-up information will be emailed to media accredited to attend this launch in person.<\/p>\n

12 p.m. \u2013 Psyche Mission and Science Briefing on NASA TV with the following participants:<\/p>\n