Ginny Lloyd (2 more) and Jas Felter (1 more) - BENNU Asteroid Mission - 2016

NASA called all space enthusiasts to send their artistic endeavors on a journey aboard NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft. This will be the first U.S. mission to collect a sample of an asteroid and return it to Earth for study.

Launch

The OSIRIS-REx launch window opens on September 3, 2016. The launch period will last for 39 days, with a 30 minute window available each day. OSIRIS-REx will leave Cape Canaveral, Florida on an Atlas V rocket in the 411 configuration. Throughout the 39 days the characteristic energy (C₃) is fixed at 29.3km²/s², for a launch vehicle capability of 1955 kg.
The 411 configuration adds a single strap-on solid booster rocket to the first stage. The Atlas V rocket uses a Russian-built RD-180 engine burning kerosene and liquid oxygen to power its first stage, and an American-built RL10 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to power its Centaur upper stage.
The fairing separates in preparation for the release of the spacecraft from the Centaur upper stage.

Return
The window for departing Bennu opens in March 2021. At this time OSIRIS-REx will fire the main engines and leave Bennu with a speed of 0.32 km/s (716 mph). This burn will place OSIRIS-REx on a ballistic trajectory that intersects the orbit of the Earth in September 2023. Return to the museum when it arrives to celebrate.

by Jas Felter

by Ginny Lloyd

by Ginny Lloyd