Psyche

Maxar will test the deployment of Psyche’s two perpendicular cross panels using specialized equipment at its facilities.

Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA’s Discovery Program, which is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA’s Discovery Program, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

The Europa Clipper mission, planned for a 2023 launch, plans to use the same JPL clean room and has stricter cleanliness requirements that could force Psyche integration and testing to be conducted off-site.

The Government Accountability Office report included a Psyche cost range of $907,300,000 to $957,300,000.

NASA’s fiscal year 2020 budget proposal included a Psyche cost range of $907,300,000 to $957,300,000 and requested $213,200,000 for the mission in 2019-10-01.

The value of the Gateway launch contract at $331,800,000 is nearly three times higher than the $117,000,000 contract NASA awarded to SpaceX in February 2020 for the Falcon Heavy launch of the Psyche asteroid mission.

The Psyche spacecraft will be fully assembled and ready to ship to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida by spring 2022.

SpaceX has NASA contracts to launch the Psyche mission to the metallic asteroid Psyche in 2022 and to launch the first two elements of the lunar Gateway in 2024 on Falcon Heavy.

NASA delayed the launch of the Psyche spacecraft previously scheduled for 2022-08-01 until no earlier than 2022-09-20 to address a software problem.

NASA set Psyche’s launch to no earlier than 2022-09-20 to provide more time for testing the spacecraft’s software.

The Government Accountability Office assessment released on 2022-06-22 reported Psyche’s cost as $965.6 million, which is 3.1% below its baseline cost commitment of $996,400,000.

NASA delayed the Psyche launch earlier from 2022-08-01 because of the software testing issue.

NASA’s Psyche asteroid mission will not launch in 2022 because there was not enough time to complete testing of the spacecraft’s software before its 2022-10-11 launch window closes.

VERITAS had taken steps to address recommendations from the Psyche independent review by moving work out of JPL and reducing spending in 2022 and 2023.

NASA removed ESCAPADE from the Psyche launch in 2020 after a trajectory change linked to Psyche’s switch from Falcon 9 to Falcon Heavy prevented ESCAPADE from achieving Mars orbit as originally designed.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy is targeted to launch Psyche from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center no earlier than 10:38 a.m. EDT (7:38 a.m. PDT) on 2023-10-05, with additional opportunities scheduled through 2023-10-25.

NASA engineers reviewed data from a Falcon 9 Starlink launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base that took place early 2023-10-09 in their evaluations related to the Psyche launch.

SpaceX postponed a Falcon 9 Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station late 2023-10-08 and prioritized the Falcon Heavy launch of Psyche, postponing the Starlink launch until after Psyche lifts off.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy launched NASA’s Psyche mission to an interplanetary transfer orbit from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 2023-10-13, at 10:19 a.m. ET.