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takyon writes:

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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