NASA's OSIRIS-REx launches toward the asteroid Bennu

NASA's OSIRIS-REx launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 8th at 7:05pm EDT. It launched atop an Atlas V rocket with one strap-on solid rocket booster in the 411 configuration. The probe's purpose is to go to the asteroid Bennu and collect a surface sample. The spacecraft has many scientific instruments to learn about the asteroid and monitor it. It has specially designed solar arrays that can gimbal toward the sun and are extended pointed away from the asteroid. OSIRIS-Rex is also one of the few

spacecraft's to have many small thrusters on its body to help with orientation and translation. The surface sample will be taken by an arm on the spacecraft that extends outward. It's a telescoping arm so the surface sampler can touch the surface for about the 3 seconds it needs for the correct amount of it. It releases nitrogen gas to push the regolith or light surface rock, into the sample canisters. It'll put the canister into the sample return capsule and go on its return trip back to Earth, where the capsule will parachute back into Utah and the spacecraft will burn up in the atmosphere. It is planned to return in September of 2023.