The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports NASA is using SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket “for the first time, aiming to send a probe named Psyche to an asteroid with the same name this week.” The Psyche probe is “set to lift off from KSC’s Launch Pad 39-A as early as 10:16 a.m. Thursday, although weather forecasts show only a 20% chance for good conditions. … The $700 million satellite managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory aims to unlock the asteroid Psyche’s secrets, which scientists suspect is metal-rich.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)
Tag: Psyche Mission
NASA’s Psyche Probe Achieves First Light Transmission
Aviation Week reported that NASA recently “conducted a test of laser communications capabilities with a ‘first light’ transmission from the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment aboard the Psyche mission spacecraft.”
Full Story (Aviation Week – subscription publication)