Photos: First ULA mission of the year blasts off

A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, crowned by a solid-fueled upper stage kick motor, will send NASA’s Parker Solar Probe on a speedy voyage through the inner solar system following liftoff from Cape Canaveral.

This NASA animation depicts the OSIRIS-REx mission to grab a sample of Asteroid Bennu and return it to Earth for study. Launch from Cape Canaveral aboard an Atlas 5 rocket is scheduled for Sept. 8 and landing in Utah is planned for Sept. 24, 2023.

Mission leaders Tuesday gave approval for rollout of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket on Wednesday morning, leading to liftoff Thursday night of the Magnetospheric Multiscale science project for NASA.