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Oct. 4, 2023 MEDIA ADVISORY: M23-123 NASA Sets Coverage for Psyche Spacecraft
Launch to Metal World NASA will provide coverage of the upcoming prelaunch and launch activities for its Psyche mission to a metal-rich asteroid. Launch is targeted for
10:16 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 12, 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 on YouTube,
X,
Facebook,
Twitch,
Daily
Motion, the
NASA app, and the agency’s
website. NASA TV’s public channel will be airing
coverage
of a spacewalk outside the International Space Station. 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: NASA 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. The
asteroid
Psyche may 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’s
Deep 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. 10 9:30 a.m. – One-on-one media interviews at Kennedy with various mission subject-matter experts. Sign-up information will be emailed to media accredited
to attend this launch in person. 12 p.m. – Psyche Mission and Science Briefing on NASA TV with the following participants:
Media may request the news conference dial-in number and passcode by contacting the Kennedy newsroom no later than
one hour prior to the start of the call at ksc-newsroom@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Members of the public also may ask questions, which may be answered in real time during the segment, by using #AskNASA on social media. On-site media previously credentialed may attend the
briefing in person or via telephone. Wednesday, Oct. 11 1 p.m. – Psyche Prelaunch News Conference on NASA TV with the following participants:
Media may request the news conference dial-in number and passcode by contacting the Kennedy newsroom no later than
one hour prior to the start of the call at
ksc-newsroom@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Members of the public also may ask questions, which may be answered in real time during the segment, by using #AskNASA on social media. On-site media may attend the briefing in person or via
telephone. 2:30 p.m. – NASA Social Panel livestream at Kennedy. Watch live on
YouTube
and Facebook. 5 p.m. – NASA EDGE will host the Psyche rollout show live on NASA TV and
YouTube. Thursday, Oct. 12 9:15 a.m. – Live launch coverage without commentary begins on NASA TV media channel.
9:30 a.m. – Live launch coverage with commentary begins on
YouTube,
X,
Facebook,
Twitch,
Daily
Motion, the
NASA app, and the agency’s
website.
For NASA TV downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit:
NASA Website Launch Coverage Launch 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 available
online.
Follow countdown coverage on the Psyche launch blog at:
Audio Only Coverage Audio 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 Virtually Members of the public
can register to
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 Online Let 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,
NASASolarSystem Instagram:
@NASA,
@NASAKennedy,
@NASAJPL,
@NASASolarSystem X:
@NASA,
@NASAKennedy,
@NASASocial,
@NASAJPL,
@NASA_LSP,
@NASASolarSystem The 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. The 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:
-end-
Alise Fisher / Alana Johnson Headquarters, Washington 202-617-4977 / 202-358-1501 alise.m.fisher@xxxxxxxx /
alana.r.johnson@xxxxxxxx
Leejay Lockhart Kennedy Space Center, Florida 321-747-8310 |
