AV-067 – Page 2 – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Asteroid probe encapsulated, mounted atop Atlas 5 for launch

September 7, 2016 Justin Ray

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

September 6, 2016 Justin Ray

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

September 6, 2016 Justin Ray

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

September 5, 2016 Justin Ray

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

September 4, 2016 Justin Ray

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

September 2, 2016 Justin Ray

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

August 30, 2016 Justin Ray

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

August 29, 2016 Justin Ray

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

August 25, 2016 Justin Ray

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

August 25, 2016 Justin Ray

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.