Welcome to the c/SpaceX Psyche Official Launch Discussion & Updates Thread!

Scheduled for (UTC)	2023-10-13 14:19
Scheduled for (local)	2023-10-13 10:19 (EDT)
Launch site	LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
Launch vehicle	Falcon Heavy
Center	1079-1 (expended)
Booster	1064-4 (RTLS)
Booster	1065-4 (RTLS)
Customer	NASA
Payload	Psyche
Mission success criteria	Successful deployment of spacecraft into desired orbit

Livestreams

Stream	Link
NASA	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npIDMxrzm_o
Spaceflight Now	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2oTmDmpQd4
NASASpaceflight	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr6XMnH_7RE
The Launch Pad	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSUN9bW0uCI
Everyday Astronaut	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzxJv3Ekrl0
SpaceX	https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1712833986865823857
The Space Devs	TBD

Stats

☑️ 4th Falcon Heavy launch this year

☑️ 8th Falcon Heavy launch all time

☑️ 11th launch from LC-39A this year

☑️ 72nd SpaceX launch this year

☑️ 286th SpaceX launch all time

☑️ 248th consecutive successful Falcon 9 / FH launch (excluding Amos-6) (if successful)

Payload info

Psyche

Psyche is an orbiter mission that will explore the origin of planetary cores by studying the metallic asteroid 16 Psyche. Lindy Elkins-Tanton of Arizona State University is the Principal Investigator who proposed this mission for NASA’s Discovery Program. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) will manage the project.

16 Psyche is the heaviest known M-type asteroid and is thought to be the exposed iron core of a protoplanet, the remnant of a violent collision with another object that stripped off its outer crust. Radar observations of the asteroid from Earth indicate an iron–nickel composition. On 4 January 2017, the Psyche mission was selected for NASA’s Discovery #14 mission

Target orbit	Heliocentric Orbit
Payloads	1
Total Mass	2600 kg

Resources:

• NSF article
• Official NASA mission page
• Recent NASA blog

Please post small launch updates, discussions, and questions here! Also feel free to leave feedback or suggestions for the mod team. We’re still a relatively small sub, so feedback from the community is very valuable!