The live launch broadcast for NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, a mission to a unique metal-rich asteroid. Psyche 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. The ore will not be mined but studied from orbit in hopes of giving researchers a better idea of what may make up Earth’s core. The Psyche spacecraft also will host a pioneering technology demonstration: NASA’s DSOC (Deep Space Optical Communications) experiment. This laser communications system will operate for the first two years of Psyche’s journey. Launch occurred at 10:19 a.m. EDT, Friday, Oct. 13, from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. The launch is managed by the Launch Service Program based at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
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NASA ID
KSC-20231013-VP-MMS01-0001-SpaceX_Psyche_Live_Launch_Show_HD-WON_M1708
Date Created
October 13, 2023
Center
KSC
Media Type
video
Photographer
NASA/Michelle Stone
Location
LC-39A
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