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Credit & Copyright: United Launch Alliance
Explanation:
Near sunset on Thursday, clear skies saw the
launch of
the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft.
Sporting a single solid rocket booster, its Atlas V vehicle
blasts off from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41 in this
low, wide-angle view toward launch pad and setting Sun.
OSIRIS-REx is
bound for Bennu,
scheduled to
encounter
the mountain-sized asteroid in 2018.
First the spacecraft will swing back by home world planet
Earth though, for a
gravity
assist maneuver to boost it on its way.
After a detailed survey of Bennu
OSIRIS-REx will collect
a sample from the asteroid's surface in 2020 and bring it home,
returning to Earth in 2023.
If all goes well it will be the largest sample returned
by a space mission
since the Apollo era.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: launch
Publications with words: launch
See also: