NASA, SpaceX Will Try Again To Launch Planet-Hunting Telescope
HAWTHORNE (CBSLA) — NASA will make another attempt Wednesday at launching a planet-hunting telescope aboard one of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The "Tess" Telescope was supposed to launch Monday, but the plans were delayed.
The launch is set for 3:51 p.m. California time, with deployment of the satellite expected 48 minutes later. If successful the launch will be the eighth of the year for Hawthorne-based SpaceX, which most recently launched a resupply mission to the International Space Station on April 2.
It is a great day for a launch and to fly! @NASA_TESS is "small but mighty" says our launch team from @NASAGoddard, @OrbitalATK, @MIT, @TESSatMIT, and @SpaceX! Go #TESS! Go #Falcon9! pic.twitter.com/60q5TOGumv
— NASA_TESS (@NASA_TESS) April 18, 2018
The TESS mission, led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research, is designed to find potential planets orbiting stars close to Earth. It will attempt to identify such planets by spotting dips in the brightness of stars, a sign that a planet is passing in front of it.
Launching Monday, our planet-hunting @NASA_TESS spacecraft will fly in a unique orbit that'll allow it to study nearly the entire sky over 2 years. This special orbit is key in potentially finding thousands of new planets outside our solar system. Watch: pic.twitter.com/2ONGXewAji
— NASA (@NASA) April 16, 2018
After the satellite deploys, SpaceX will attempt to land the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on a barge named "Of Course I Still Love You" in the Atlantic Ocean.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)