Osiris-Rex PI Kickstarting Outreach Budget With Card GameDan Leone September 9, 2015 [SN]
WASHINGTON — The head of NASA’s Osiris-Rex asteroid sample-return probe plans to crowd fund an unofficial public outreach budget for the mission on Kickstarter by selling a card game in which players compete to build their own space missions.
The game, Xtronaut, was designed by Dante Lauretta, a University of Arizona Tucson professor and principal investigator for Osiris-Rex: A roughly $1 billion NASA New Frontiers mission set to launch in September 2016 and return an asteroid sample to Earth in 2023.
https://spacenews.com/osiris-rex-to-kickstart-outreach-budget-with-card-game/Lockheed Finishes Building Asteroid Sample Return CraftDan Leone October 24, 2015
Osiris-Rex. Credit: Lockheed MartinWASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin Space Systems finished assembling NASA’s Osiris-Rex asteroid sample retrieval spacecraft, which now will undergo five months of testing to ensure it is space worthy, the company said in an Oct. 21 press release.
Lockheed will test the Osiris-Rex — short for Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer — at its Space Systems campus outside of Denver. The spacecraft will undergo vibration and acoustic tests to ensure it can survive the harsh forces of a rocket launch, after which it will be placed in thermal vacuum chamber that mimics the airlessness and temperature swings of space.
https://spacenews.com/lockheed-finishes-building-asteroid-sample-return-craft/OSIRIS-REx arrives in Florida for September launchJeff Foust May 21, 2016 [SN]
NASA and Lockheed Martin teams unload the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a U.S. Air Force C-17 after landing at the Kennedy Space Center May 20. Credit: SpaceNews photo by Jeff FoustKENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — A spacecraft that will fly NASA’s first asteroid sample return mission arrived in Florida May 20 to begin final preparations for its September launch.
A U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility here at 7:20 p.m. Eastern, delivering the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security – Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft. The C-17 arrived from Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado, near the Lockheed Martin facility where the spacecraft was assembled.
https://spacenews.com/osiris-rex-arrives-in-florida-for-september-launch/OSIRIS-REx mated with its Atlas 5 launcher for Sept. 8 liftoffJeff Foust
August 30, 2016
OSIRIS-REx principal investigator Dante Lauretta tweeted this photo Aug. 29 of the Atlas 5 shroud that will encapsulate the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft during its Sept. 8 launch atop an Atlas 5 rocket.https://spacenews.com/osiris-rex-mated-with-its-atlas-5-launcher-for-sept-8-liftoff/Launch of NASA asteroid mission unaffected by SpaceX failureJeff Foust September 1, 2016 [SN]
The Atlas 5 payload fairing containing NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is installed on top of the rocket Aug. 29 at Space Launch Complex 41. Credit: NASA/Dimitri GerondidakisWASHINGTON — NASA said Sept. 1 that the launch of an asteroid sample return mission from Florida remained on schedule for next week despite the explosion of SpaceX Falcon 9 at a neighboring launch pad.
https://spacenews.com/launch-of-nasa-asteroid-mission-unaffected-by-spacex-failure/OSIRIS-REx cleared for Thursday launchJeff Foust September 6, 2016 [SN]
NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will attempt to collect samples from the surface of asteroid Bennu for return to Earth. Credit: NASAKENNEDY SPACE Center, Fla. — NASA managers have given their approval for the launch Sept. 8 of an Atlas 5 carrying a spacecraft that will travel to a nearby asteroid, collect samples and return them to Earth.
The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, and Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, mission passed a launch readiness review Sept. 6, the last major review prior to its launch from Cape Canaveral at 7:05 p.m. Eastern Sept. 8. A weather forecast projects an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather for launch.
https://spacenews.com/osiris-rex-cleared-for-thursday-launch/Atlas 5 launches NASA asteroid sample return missionJeff Foust September 8, 2016 Updated at 10:05 p.m. Eastern.
An Atlas 5 launches NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return spacecraft from Cape Canaveral on Sept. 8. Credit: SpaceNews/Jeff FoustKENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — An Atlas 5 successfully launched a NASA mission to visit a near Earth asteroid and return samples of it to Earth Sept. 8.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 411 lifted off at 7:05 p.m. Eastern from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. No significant problems were reported during the countdown, and weather remained favorable throughout the day leading up to launch.
https://spacenews.com/atlas-5-launches-nasa-asteroid-sample-return-mission/OSIRIS-REx touches down on asteroidJeff Foust October 20, 2020 [SN]
An illustration of NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, with its sampling arm extended, approaching the surface of the asteroid Bennu. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Univ. of ArizonaWASHINGTON — NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touched down on the surface of the asteroid Bennu Oct. 20, but it may be several days before project scientists know how much material the probe collected for return to Earth.
A sampling arm extended from the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft touched down in a crater called Nightingale on the surface of Bennu at 6:12 p.m. Eastern. The Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) was on the surface for several seconds before the spacecraft backed away from the asteroid as planned.
https://spacenews.com/osiris-rex-touches-down-on-asteroid/NASA confident OSIRIS-REx collected asteroid samplesJeff Foust October 21, 2020 [SN]
An image of the OSIRIS-REx sampling mechanism, called TAGSAM, touching down on the surface of the asteroid Bennu Oct. 20. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Univ. of ArizonaWASHINGTON — The leaders of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission are confident that the spacecraft collected material from the surface of the asteroid Bennu during a touch-and-go (TAG) maneuver Oct. 20.
At an Oct. 21 briefing nearly 24 hours after the spacecraft’s brief touchdown on the asteroid, project officials and NASA leadership said images taken by OSIRIS-REx during the TAG maneuver and returned to Earth hours later indicate the spacecraft touched down almost exactly where expected and encountered material that the spacecraft was designed to collect.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-confident-osiris-rex-collected-asteroid-samples/Asteroid samples leaking from OSIRIS-RExJeff Foust October 23, 2020 [SN]
An image taken by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft of its sampling head shows a cloud of material taken from the surface of asteroid Bennu leaking out of a small gap in the lid of the sampling mechanism. Credit: NASAWASHINGTON — NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft collected so much material from the surface of the asteroid Bennu that the lid of its sampling head is jammed open, causing material to leak out and changing the agency’s plans for the mission.
At a media briefing called by NASA on short notice Oct. 23, three days after the spacecraft touched down on the asteroid, officials said that images taken of the head of the sampling device, called the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM), showed material leaking out of the container from a gap in a Mylar diaphragm that is supposed to seal the bottom of the head.
https://spacenews.com/asteroid-samples-leaking-from-osiris-rex/OSIRIS-REx safely stores asteroid sampleJeff Foust October 30, 2020 [SN]
A canister containing material collected from the surface of the asteroid Bennu is placed inside a sample return capsule on the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Univ. of Arizona/Lockheed MartinWASHINGTON — NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has secured material it collected from the asteroid Bennu into a sample return capsule, a process the mission accelerated after images showed material leaking into space.
At an Oct. 29 briefing, project officials said they had stowed a sample collection device called the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) into a capsule on the spacecraft. A robotic arm moved the TAGSAM head into position within the capsule, which then sealed shut.
https://spacenews.com/osiris-rex-safely-stores-asteroid-sample/OSIRIS-REx to make final close approach to asteroid before heading back to EarthJeff Foust April 1, 2021 [SN]
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will observe the region of the asteroid Bennu it collected samples from last October during a final close approach to the asteroid April 7. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Univ. of ArizonaWASHINGTON — NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will make one final close approach to the asteroid it collected samples from next week before heading back to Earth.
On April 7, the spacecraft will pass 3.7 kilometers above the location on the asteroid Bennu called Nightingale where, in October, the spacecraft briefly touched down and collected as much as several hundred grams of material, now stored in the spacecraft.
https://spacenews.com/osiris-rex-to-make-final-close-approach-to-asteroid-before-heading-back-to-earth/NASA to repurpose OSIRIS-REx for second asteroid encounterby Jeff Foust — April 26, 2022 [SN]
NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, after returning samples collected from the asteroid Bennu, will get a second life as OSIRIS-APEX to visit the asteroid Apophis in 2029. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Univ. of ArizonaWASHINGTON — A NASA mission to return samples from one near Earth asteroid will get an extended mission to visit a second asteroid under a plan approved by the agency April 25.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-to-repurpose-osiris-rex-for-second-asteroid-encounter/South Korea cancels Apophis probePark Si-soo June 7, 2022 [SN]
Cancelation follows NASA decision to send OSIRIS-Rex on extended mission to encounter Apophis after dropping off Bennu samplesRadar images of asteroid Apophis captured by NASA in 2012. South Korea planned to launch a spacecraft to probe the space rock when it passes near Earth in April 2029, but it recently scrapped it due to a “lack of technical capabilities.” Credit: NASA/JPL-CalTechSEOUL, South Korea — Citing a “lack of technical capabilities,” South Korea has dropped the plan of developing a robotic spacecraft to escort asteroid Apophis during its 2029 close encounter with Earth.
The science ministry, which manages state-funded space programs, recently ruled the mission “unfeasible” and decided not to request the $307.7 million budget it initially sought for the mission. The mission involved launching a robotic spacecraft between July 2026 and January 2027 to accompany Apophis as it whips by Earth in April 2029. The probe would observe and map Apophis the whole way, looking for changes in its structure due to its close encounter with Earth and the planet’s gravitational forces. In March 2021, then-President Moon Jae-in of South Korea said the mission, if executed, would help “cement the foundation of the nation’s space industry and advance related capabilities.”
https://spacenews.com/south-korea-cancels-apophis-probe/NASA gears up for return of OSIRIS-REx asteroid sampleJeff Foust August 31, 2023 [SN]
A replica of the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule descends under parachute during a dress rehearsal Aug. 30 in Utah. Credit: NASA/Keegan BarberWASHINGTON — NASA is making the final preparations to recover samples from an asteroid that a spacecraft will bring back to Earth in September.
Teams conducted a dress rehearsal Aug. 30 of the recovery of the sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission. In the test, a helicopter dropped a replica of the capsule from an altitude of more than 2,000 meters. The capsule descended under a parachute to land at the Utah Test and Training Range west of Salt Lake City, where personnel went through procedures to get the capsule ready for transport to NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-gears-up-for-return-of-osiris-rex-asteroid-sample/