Lucy Rollout and Lift & Mate

The Lucy spacecraft, encapsulated in its payload fairing, exits the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Titusville, Florida on Oct. 7, 2021. The spacecraft will be transported to nearby Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The encapsulated spacecraft will be hoisted up and into the Vertical Integration Facility where it will be lowered down and secured on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V Centaur second stage. Lucy is scheduled to launch no earlier than Saturday, Oct. 16, on the ULA Atlas V 401 rocket from Launch Pad 41. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, America’s premier multi-user spaceport, is managing the launch. Over its 12-year primary mission, Lucy will explore a record-breaking number of asteroids, flying by one asteroid in the solar system’s main belt and seven Trojan asteroids. Additionally, Lucy’s path will circle back to Earth three times for gravity assists, making it the first spacecraft ever to return to the vicinity of Earth from the outer solar system.