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posted by janrinok on Thursday September 08 2016, @08:24PM   Printer-friendly
from the bring-me-a-stick-of-rock dept.

Update: Launch successful.

NASA will launch the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft on Sept. 8. The spacecraft will attempt exploration and a sample return from the asteroid 101955 Bennu. It will arrive at Bennu in 2018 and map it before selecting a site for sample collection.

Space.com reports:

Bennu is thought to have formed soon after the sun, at around the same time as the solar system's planets. While the constant activity of volcanoes, earthquakes and erosion changed the chemistry of Earth's material since that time (as likely happened on other planets), Bennu remains virtually unmarred. A sample of the asteroid should therefore provide a time-capsule-like glimpse of the planets' youth, the researchers said.

[...] To complete its planned science objectives, OSIRIS-REx needs to collect a least a 2-ounce (60 grams) sample from Bennu. Once that material lands back on Earth, scientists will probe the sample with complex experiments that just aren't possible in space. [...] "This will be the largest sample-return mission since the Apollo era," said Christine Richey, OSIRIS-REx deputy program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The returned capsule will provide a bounty not only for today's scientists, but also for future generations, Richey said. Three-fourths of the sample will be archived for later study, allowing scientists to answer questions that haven't been thought of today, using instruments yet to be imagined.

Spaceflight Now has a page dedicated to providing updates on this flight: Live coverage: Thursday's Atlas 5 countdown and launch journal

[Continues...]

One item of note from Spaceflight Now:

The Atlas 5, designated AV-067, will be making its 65th flight since 2002 and flying for the fourth time in the particular 411 configuration with a single solid rocket booster. Stacking began Aug. 8. [Emphasis added.]

They also have a page with some great pics of the rocket and its roll out to the launch pad.

Ars Technica just published a story explaining the uniqueness of the launch configuration: Why tonight's launch of an asymmetric rocket is must-see TV — An Atlas V rocket with a single solid rocket booster has a unique launch profile.

Also at The New York Times , The Washington Post , and phys.org.

More details about the mission is available on the NASA website.


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  • (Score: 3, Funny) by richtopia on Thursday September 08 2016, @09:35PM

    by richtopia (3160) on Thursday September 08 2016, @09:35PM (#399368) Homepage Journal

    I tried a single booster in Kerbal Space Program like the Atlas V 411, and it always crashed.

    I just want to save NASA from the trial and error procedure I've developed while playing KSP.

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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by martyb on Thursday September 08 2016, @09:55PM

    by martyb (76) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 08 2016, @09:55PM (#399377) Journal

    I tried a single booster in Kerbal Space Program like the Atlas V 411, and it always crashed.

    I just want to save NASA from the trial and error procedure I've developed while playing KSP.

    Hmmm? From the Ars Technica [arstechnica.com] link in TFS:

    The Atlas V 411 variant, with just a single strap-on solid booster, has flown only three times previously, and just once from Cape Canaveral back in 2006. The other two launches, in 2008 and 2011, were national security payloads that flew from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Los Angeles. Up to five strap-on boosters can be added to an Atlas V launch vehicle, but it makes sense to only pay for the power you need. For the Bennu-bound spacecraft, which will get a gravity assist from Earth in one year, just one booster is required.

    As there is only poor quality video [youtube.com] of the non-classified 2006 launch, tonight offers a viewing opportunity for people to see an Atlas V 411 fly with unprecedented clarity. And it should be quite a show. With just a single strap-on booster, the rocket will have to gimbal its main engine, the RD-180, during the initial ascent to account for the lack of symmetry. Fortunately the RD-180 engine, with its two nozzles, can gimbal (or pivot) up to 8 degrees during full thrust. You will be able see this skewed thrust during liftoff, which should look quite awkward but is nonetheless well grounded in rocket science.

    I would agree, however, that when referring to a rocket "well grounded" may not have been the best choice of words. =)

    --
    Wit is intellect, dancing.
  • (Score: 2) by janrinok on Friday September 09 2016, @07:26AM

    by janrinok (52) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 09 2016, @07:26AM (#399517) Journal
    This was humour surely? It is currently tagged as 'Insightful'!
    • (Score: 2) by gidds on Friday September 09 2016, @12:45PM

      by gidds (589) on Friday September 09 2016, @12:45PM (#399582)

      What?  Next, you'll be saying that this [xkcd.com] isn't true!

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      • (Score: 2) by gidds on Friday September 09 2016, @12:50PM

        by gidds (589) on Friday September 09 2016, @12:50PM (#399585)

        Or this [xkcd.com]!

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        [sig redacted]