Sept. 8, 2016   
   RELEASE 16-096   
       
   NASA's OSIRIS-REx Speeds Toward Asteroid Rendezvous   
       
   NASA's first asteroid sampling mission launched into space at 7:05 p.m. EDT   
   Thursday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, beginning a journey   
   that could revolutionize our understanding of the early solar system.   
       
   "Today, we celebrate a huge milestone for this remarkable mission, and for   
   this mission team," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "We're very   
   excited about what this mission can tell us about the origin of our solar   
   system, and we celebrate the bigger picture of science that is helping us make   
   discoveries and accomplish milestones that might have been science fiction   
   yesterday, but are science facts today."   
       
   The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, S   
   curity-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft is designed to rendezvous   
   with, study, and return a sample of the asteroid Bennu to Earth. Asteroids   
   like Bennu are remnants from the formation of our solar system more than 4.5   
   billion years ago. Scientists suspect that asteroids may have been a source of   
   the water and organic molecules for the early Earth and other planetary   
   bodies. An uncontaminated asteroid sample from a known source would enable   
   precise analyses, providing results far beyond what can be achieved by   
   spacecraft-based instruments or by studying meteorites.   
       
   OSIRIS-REx separated from its United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 8:04   
   p.m. The solar arrays deployed and are now powering the spacecraft.   
       
   "With today's successful launch, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft embarks on a   
   journey of exploration to Bennu," said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal   
   investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson. "I couldn't be more proud   
   of the team that made this mission a reality, and I can't wait to see what we   
   will discover at Bennu."   
       
   In 2018, OSIRIS-REx will approach Bennu - which is the size of a small   
   mountain - and begin an intricate dance with the asteroid, mapping and   
   studying Bennu in preparation for sample collection. In July 2020, the   
   spacecraft will perform a daring maneuver in which its 11-foot arm will reach   
   out and perform a five-second "high-five" to stir up surface material,   
   collecting at least 2 ounces (60 grams) of small rocks and dust in a sample   
   return container. OSIRIS-REx will return the sample to Earth in September   
   2023, when it will then be transported to NASA's Johnson Space Center in   
   Houston for examination.   
       
   The OSIRIS-REx mission will be the first U.S. mission to carry samples from an   
   asteroid back to Earth and the largest sample returned from space since the   
   Apollo era.   
       
   "It's satisfying to see the culmination of years of effort from this   
   outstanding team," said Mike Donnelly, OSIRIS-REx project manager at NASA's   
   Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "We were able to deliver   
   OSIRIS-REx on time and under budget to the launch site, and will soon do   
   something that no other NASA spacecraft has done - bring back a sample from an   
   asteroid."   
       
   Goddard provides overall mission management, systems engineering and the   
   safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. The University of Arizona leads   
   the science team and observation planning and processing. Lockheed Martin   
   Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft. OSIRIS-REx is the third mission   
   in NASA's New Frontiers Program. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in   
   Huntsville, Alabama, manages the agency's New Frontiers Program for its   
   Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Launch and countdown management is   
   the responsibility of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.   
       
   For images, video, and more information, visit:   
       
   http://www.nasa.gov/osiris-rex   
       
   and   
       
   http://www.asteroidmission.org   
       
       
   Regards,   
       
   Roger   
      
   --- DB 3.99 + W10 (1607)   
    * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)