NASA on track for Psyche launch on Falcon Heavy after missteps forced delay

Fallout from last year’s delay to the launch of the Psyche asteroid probe led to an independent review of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and its handling of the mission. The leader of that review says the team has been impressed with NASA’s reaction as the launch is back on track for an October liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center.

“The [review board] recognizes that our JPL institution findings or recommendations were challenging and really require considerable time to complete the required corrective actions,” said retired aerospace executive A. Thomas Young. “We were impressed by the results we observed that were well beyond our high expectations.”

Psyche was supposed to launch last summer so that it could rendezvous with a metal-rich asteroid also named Psyche that lies between Mars and Jupiter in 2026. But because it missed the launch window last year, this year’s launch, if it goes well, means it won’t arrive at the asteroid until 2029.

The launch window runs from Oct. 5-23 and the probe itself has been in Florida since last April, but additional work was required to make it ready that forced it to miss the 2022 launch opportunities. Before the delay, the mission cost had topped $850 million for the development, operation and science. Launch costs to use the Falcon Heavy were separate.

The review board targeted both issues with Psyche probe team and the JPL based at Caltech as a whole that it said contributed to the delay. The board released its findings last November and a review of NASA and JPL’s response in an update released May 30.

Changes made since the delay include reorganization of the JPL workforce and improving senior management oversight of the mission.