I
Among 30,000 asteroids in our solar system, Psyche was discovered in 1852 orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. In 2015, humanity decided to visit it with a robot. The mission is scheduled to launch Oct. 13 at 10:19 am ET.
II
The mission comes from three organizations: NASA, which funds the mission; Arizona State University, which is leading the scientific work; and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is responsible for the design of the instruments and operation of the spacecraft.
III
Psyche is unique among NASA’s targets in the whirling solar system because it contains a significant amount of metal, besides rocks or volatile chemicals. NASA’s last asteroid mission brought back samples of material from the asteroid Bennu that included carbon and water, but Psyche is a different bird.
IV
An asteroid and a planet are one. Or at least, they can shed light on each other: Scientists speculate that Psyche, one of the largest asteroids, could be the core of an ancient planet. This mission will try to find it out if that is true, enhancing our knowledge of the solar system.
V
The Psyche spacecraft will orbit the asteroid 1,247 times, using a multispectral imagery, a spectrometer, and a magnetometer, as well as gravity measurements, to determine its precise size and composition—looking for innuendos of its past and inflections of its future.
VI
The shadow of Psyche will cross the spacecraft to and fro as it winds its way through the solar system, using a solar-electric propulsion system with force equal to the weight of an AA battery in your hand, and the gravity of Mars to slingshot it towards its final rendezvous.
VII
Could a huge metal asteroid be a golden opportunity for space miners? AstroForge, a firm that hopes to harvest metals from space objects, will learn from Psyche, but says only closer asteroids can be mined in a timely (and thereby profitable) way.
VIII
For Maxar, the private company that built the spacecraft, the Psyche probe is involved in what it knows: satellite design. The vehicle’s structure is based on a design that it has adapted for everything from satellite radio to a future lunar space station.
IX
When a spacecraft flies out of sight, it uses NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) to stay in touch with home. With Psyche, NASA will experiment with a new optical communications system to connect 10 to 100 times faster than the DSN, part of the growing interest in laser data transmission in space.
X
The sight of the asteroid will be novel: While scientists suspect there are two crater-like indentations in the surface of the asteroid, which is roughly 130 miles (210km) in diameter, its metallic composition could leave it with unusually shaped features.
XI
We ride over the universe on a planet that can be threatened by large asteroids, so the fear of mistaking a safe object for a dangerous one has NASA scanning the solar system for threats. The Psyche mission, like OSIRIS-Rex and DART, will help us figure out what to do if a metal asteroid comes close to Earth.
XII
If the Falcon Heavy is moving, the spacecraft must be flying. The use of SpaceX’s heavy lift rocket with reusable boosters cost NASA $117 million for this mission. It’s the first in a series of science missions that SpaceX will launch with the rocket, including a weather satellite, a probe that will visit a Moon of Jupiter, and a rover headed for the Moon.
XIII
It was going, and it is going to go, but the Psyche spacecraft will not get there until August 2029.
(With apologies to Wallace Stevens.)
🌕🌖🌗
IMAGERY INTERLUDE
Psyche onboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket ahead of launch; it will be just the eighth time that the rocket has gone to space. The two side boosters are evidence of this: They’ve flown three times before, earning their charred appearance.
📡 📡 📡
SPACE DEBRIS
Kuiper is in orbit. Amazon’s answer to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet constellation now has two prototypes in space, with plans to launch some 3,200 satellites in total. The company didn’t grant interviews about the spacecraft or the test campaign while it goes through a complex leadership transition: Former Microsoft exec Panos Panay is replacing current Amazon hardare chief Dave Limp, who in turn is headed to Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin.
Stoke is in the money. The rocket start-up raised $100 million to continue work on a fully reusable rocket, starting with the design of a second stage before completing a rocket intended to deliver payloads as large as 5,000 kg to low-earth orbit.
Space insurance is in (another) pickle. Four geostationary satellites have reportedly suffered failures with electric thrusters developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne for Northrop Grumman—and that could mean more claims on the space insurance sector already fretting about huge payouts this year.
Relativity is selling its (unflown) rocket. The start-up currently building a rocket to compete with the Falcon 9 said it inked a launch deal with Intelsat, part of a $1.8 billion backlog of orders. After its small rocket, Terran 1, launched but didn’t reach in March, the company focused its resources on Terran R, which is expected to fly in 2026.
A Spanish start-up is lifting off. PLD Space launched a suborbital rocket to an altitude of 46 km, and while the test flight didn’t meet most of its objectives, it marks a step forward for Europe’s still nascent private rocket business.
SpaceX is fighting with the FAA again. After the FAA, which regulates commercial spaceflight, warned that the growing number of satellites burning up in Earth’s atmosphere could kill one person every two years starting in 2035, SpaceX issued rebutted the analysis, arguing that it relied on outdated assumptions.
Last week: Optical data transmission could be the next big thing in space.
Last year: SpaceX sees the Moon as a direct-to-consumer opportunity.
This was issue 198 of our newsletter. Hope your week is out of this world! Please send your favorite poems adapted to space topics, tips, and informed opinions to tim@qz.com.