NASA’s Psyche spacecraft launch delayed by several weeks

A software issue has delayed the launch of NASA's Psyche spacecraft.

The craft will not launch on August 1 because of a technical issue, according to SpaceFlightNow.

The launch will be delayed by several weeks, and will now take place no earlier than September 20. The launch will take place from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

On April 29 this year, the Psyche spacecraft arrived at Kennedy from NASA's JPL in California. After arriving at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility in Kennedy, the craft was unboxed from its shipping container and prepared for launch. During the final preparations for the launch, it was necessary to put its solar array back in place, test its communications system, and load fuel into the craft.

The Psyche was tested at JPL before it was shipped to Florida. The craft was exposed to space-like conditions to ensure it could stand up to the rigors of launch. This included the shaking that occurs during launch, the shock of the spacecraft leaving the rocket, the vacuum conditions of space, and the fluctuations in temperatures during the cruise phases of the mission.

The aim of the mission is to visit Psyche, a metal asteroid located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Psyche is the only asteroid thought to be composed entirely of iron and nickel, and it could be used to understand the formation of planets in the solar system. It is possible that Psyche was on the way to becoming a planet.

To reach Psyche, the craft needs to launch within a certain window so that it reaches Mars at the right time to perform a flyby which will give it a gravity assist on its journey. When the launch window will close and what future launch periods are are not known by NASA.

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