Atlas 5
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Photos: Asteroid probe encapsulated, mounted atop Atlas 5 for launch
Technicians inched the two halves of the Atlas 5's aluminum nose cone around NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to package the asteroid sample return probe, then moved the satellite to the rocket's assembly building and hoisted it aboard the two-stage booster during the final days of August for the Sept. 8 launch.
Video: Atlas/OSIRIS-REx pre-launch and mission science press briefings
Watch the Atlas 5 rocket and OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return spacecraft pre-launch news conference and the mission science briefing held on Launch-minus 2 days at the Kennedy Space Center.
Atlas 5 rocket cleared to launch NASA probe to Asteroid Bennu
Mission leaders Tuesday gave approval for rollout of the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to its pad on Wednesday morning, leading to liftoff Thursday evening of a NASA probe to rendezvous with an asteroid and bring a sample back to Earth.
Preview: NASA craft launches Thursday seeking the seeds of life on asteroid
What began as a concept scribbled on a cocktail napkin in a Tucson bar 12 years ago -- sending a spacecraft to an asteroid and retrieving a pristine sample to bring back to Earth for study -- becomes reality Thursday with the launch of NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission.
Weather forecast favorable for Atlas 5 to launch NASA asteroid probe Thursday
Prognosticators are predicting favorable weather conditions to launch an Atlas 5 rocket Thursday and send NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on its interplanetary journey to interrogate an asteroid and collect a surface sample for return to Earth.
Asteroid probe apparently unharmed in nearby SpaceX explosion, passes its FRR
NASA says initial checks show no damage to the Atlas 5 rocket or the agency's asteroid-bound OSIRIS-REx spacecraft that stood within the Vertical Integration Facility just a mile away from the SpaceX explosion Thursday.
Animation of OSIRIS-REx mission from liftoff to return home
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.
Probe hoisted aboard launcher to leave Earth next week on asteroid adventure
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft today moved a step closer to starting a voyage to explore an uncharted world in our solar system -- the mountain-sized Asteroid Bennu -- by joining the booster rocket that will propel it from Earth next week.
Photos: Atlas 5 rocket assembled for launch of asteroid sample return probe
At Cape Canaveral's Vertical Integration Facility, adjacent to the Complex 41 launch pad, workers with United Launch Alliance stacked the Atlas 5 rocket that will propel NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft on its voyage to Asteroid Bennu.
Atlas 5 rocket rehearses countdown for upcoming launch to Asteroid Bennu
Running through a practice countdown to check systems before launching a NASA sample-return probe to Asteroid Bennu in exactly two weeks, an Atlas 5 successfully completed its Wet Dress Rehearsal today.