NASA Sets Coverage for Psyche Spacecraft Launch to Metal World
The spacecraft will explore a metal-rich asteroid, also named Psyche, to learn how Earth and other rocky planets formed.
NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for its Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for 10:19 a.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 13, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.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 onNASA TV's public channel,YouTube,X,Facebook,Twitch,Daily Motion, theNASA app, and the agency’swebsite.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’s website at:https://www.nasa.gov/nasatvNASA 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. Theasteroid Psychemay 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.Attached to the Psyche spacecraft is a technology demonstration, NASA’sDeep Space Optical Communications. 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’s journey to Psyche. While the optical communications demonstration is hosted by Psyche, its transceiver will not relay Psyche mission data.Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):Tuesday, Oct. 1012 p.m. – Psyche Mission and Science Briefing on NASA TV with the following participants:Lori Glaze, Planetary Science Division director, NASA HeadquartersLindy Elkins-Tanton, Psyche principal investigator, Arizona State UniversityBen Weiss, Psyche deputy principal investigator and magnetometer lead, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyDavid Oh, Psyche chief engineer for operations, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)Abi Biswas, Deep Space Optical Communications project technologist, JPLMembers of the public also may ask questions, which may be answered in real time during the segment, by using #AskNASA on social media.Wednesday, Oct. 111 p.m. – Psyche Prelaunch News Conference on NASA TV with the following participants:NASA Associate Administrator Bob CabanaNicola Fox, associate administrator, NASA’s Science Mission DirectorateTim Dunn, senior launch director, NASA’s Launch Services ProgramJulianna Scheiman, director, Civil Satellite Missions, SpaceXHenry Stone, Psyche project manager, JPLArlena Moses, launch weather officer, U.S. Space ForceMembers of the public also may ask questions, which may be answered in real time during the segment, by using #AskNASA on social media.2:30 p.m. – NASA Social Panel livestream at Kennedy. Watch live onYouTubeandFacebook.5 p.m. – NASA EDGE will host the Psyche rollout show live on NASA TV andYouTube.Friday, Oct. 139:15 a.m. – Live launch coverage without commentary begins on NASA TV media channel.9:30 a.m. – Live launch coverage with commentary begins on NASA TV's public channel,YouTube,X,Facebook,Twitch,Daily Motion, theNASA app, and the agency’swebsite.For NASA TV downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit:https://www.nasa.gov/nasatvNASA Website Launch CoverageLaunch day coverage of NASA’s Psyche mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include blog updates and livestreaming beginning no earlier than 8 a.m. Streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. Images of Psyche’s processing and launch are availableonline.Follow countdown coverage on the Psyche launch blog at:https://blogs.nasa.gov/psycheAudio Only CoverageAudio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, or -7135. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 beginning at 9:15 a.m.Attend Launch VirtuallyMembers of the publiccan registerto attend the Psyche launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the agency’s virtual guest passport following a successful launch.Watch, Engage OnlineLet people know you’re following the mission to a metal world. On Facebook, Instagram, and X, use the hashtag #MissionToPsyche and #AskNASA. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:Facebook:NASA,NASAKennedy,NASAJPL,NASALSP,NASASolarSystemInstagram:@NASA,@NASAKennedy,@NASAJPL,@NASASolarSystemX:@NASA,@NASAKennedy,@NASASocial,@NASAJPL,@NASA_LSP,@NASASolarSystemThe spacecraft will travel almost six years, using a solar electric propulsion system and a gravity assist at Mars, to make the 2.2-billion-mile (3.6-billion-kilometer) journey to the asteroid. When it arrives, the spacecraft will orbit and observe the asteroid for about 26 months using a suite of instruments, including a multispectral imager, gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, and magnetometer.Get the Latest JPL NewsSubcribe to the NewsletterThe Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, is responsible for the mission’s overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy, is managing the launch service. Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA’s Discovery Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.JPL manages Deep Space Optical Communications for the Technology Demonstration Missions program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Space Communications and Navigation program within the agency’s Space Operations Mission Directorate.For more information about Psyche, visit:https://www.nasa.gov/psyche/