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NASA is preparing to send America's first
asteroid-sampling spacecraft on an ambitious

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mission.

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It's called OSIRIS-REx, short for Origins,
Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification,

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Security-Regolith Explorer.

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OSIRIS-REx is launching on a United Launch
Alliance Atlas V rocket on a mission to the

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near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

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Launch preparations kicked off when OSIRIS-REx
traveled from Lockheed Martin's facility near

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Denver, Colorado and arrived May 20 at Kennedy
Space aboard an Air Force C-17.

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It was transported to Kennedy's Payload Hazardous
Servicing Facility for the remainder of its

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prelaunch processing.

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On May 23, OSIRIS-REx was attached to an overhead
crane, which carefully moved the spacecraft

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onto a spin table...where it was rotated the
next day in a test of its weight and center

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of gravity.

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The solar array panels were removed May 31,
allowing team members to test the deployment

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mechanism, ensuring the arrays will release
properly during flight.

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The arrays were then inspected, tested and
cleaned, and reinstalled on August 2.

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As OSIRIS-REx went through its prelaunch paces,
the Atlas V rocket components arrived.

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The Centaur upper stage was delivered by truck
to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Horizontal

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Integration Facility on July 20.

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The first-stage booster reached Port Canaveral
aboard the Delta Mariner barge on July 29.

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Both elements were processed in the Atlas
Spaceflight Operations Center before moving

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to Space Launch Complex 41, where they were
assembled vertically: first the booster, on

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Aug. 8; then, the rocket's single solid rocket
motor a day later; then the Centaur upper

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stage on Aug. 11.

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The OSIRIS-REx spacecraft was sealed in the
protective payload fairing Aug. 24.­

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Finally, with its prelaunch processing complete,
OSIRIS-REx was moved to the launch pad and

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lifted into place atop the Atlas V rocket
on August 29...setting the stage for its upcoming