NASA is now taking major steps into the completion of its Psyche asteroid spacecraft with the arrival of an important component at the US space agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, where the spacecraft's assembly, test and launch operations is in full swing.
By 2022, Psyche will complete assembly and undergo rigorous testing and checks before it is delivered to Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA targets a Psyche launch to the main asteroid belt in August 2022.
NASA said the component-Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) Chassis-was manufactured by Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California. It has the same size of a van and comprises more than 80 percent of the hardware that will make up the spacecraft.
The huge, box-shaped component was brought in the JPL's High Bay 1 in its Spacecraft Assembly Facility. Among the features of the SEP Chassis include a 6.5-foot-wide (two-meter-wide) high-gain antenna, the frame that is set to carry scientific instruments, and bright red protective covers to shield delicate equipment.
