GET PSYCHE-D: NASA Prepares To Launch Mission To $10,000 Quadrillion Asteroid.

Psyche is set to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy (the first interplanetary launch for that rocket) from Space Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center, with additional opportunities scheduled through to 25th October.

After escaping Earth’s gravity, the Psyche spacecraft will use solar electric propulsion to accomplish its six-year journey to asteroid Psyche.

Measuring about 173 miles (279 kilometers) at its widest point, NASA says the asteroid Psyche presents a unique opportunity to explore a metal-rich body that may be part of a core of a planetesimal, the building block of an early planet.

Once the spacecraft reaches Psyche in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, it will spend at least 26 months orbiting the asteroid, gathering images and other data that will tell scientists more about its history and what it is made of.

Luis Dominguez, the systems and electrical lead for assembly, test, and launch operations, is usually based at JPL but has been working full-time at the Cape since early June.

“We are moving forward,” he said, “and we’re confident that when we’re on the pad, we’ll be ready to hit the button. For all of us, we’ll be excited to launch this bird.”

If Psyche lives up to the hype about its metal content, it could be the key that opens up the entire solar system.