Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / SpaceX Prepares for Epoch-Making Spacecraft Launch to 16 Psyche Asteroid

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SpaceX Prepares for Epoch-Making Spacecraft Launch to 16 Psyche Asteroid · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  Hi everybody, welcome back to the show.
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  Today we're going to be delving into one of the most ambitious
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  space missions ever undertaken. In less than 80 days, NASA and
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  SpaceX will join forces to launch the Psyche spacecraft on
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  a journey that spans 2.5 billion miles.
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  Now this voyage aims to explore the mystery is of an asteroid
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  nestled within the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter,
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  known as 16 Psyche. This asteroid, unlike any other,
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  is made-up largely of iron and nickel, leading to estimates of
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  its worth reaching an incredible 10,000 quadrillion dollars.
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  But monetary value aside, 16 Psyche presents an unparalleled
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  opportunity for us to study a world that may closely resemble
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  the iron core of Earth. Today, we're going to be diving
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  deep into the fascinating details of this mission.
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  Examining the tireless work of NASA and SpaceX as they prepare
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  for this Monumentus launch. Will be discussing the
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  technologies involved in exploring the scientific and
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  potential. Will be discussing the
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  technologies involved in exploring the scientific and
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  potential economic implication. Our journey will take us from
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  the Space Launch Complex 39, a site at Kennedy Space Center,
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  all the way to the heart of the asteroid belt.
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  We'll reveal how Psyche the spacecraft will utilize solar
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  electric propulsion to traverse the vast cosmic expanse and how
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  it will help scientists unlock the secrets of the metal rich
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  asteroid Psyche over a 26 month research period.
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  And we'll get right into that after this quick break from our
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  sponsors. So stick with us.
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  We'll be right back in under 80 days.
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  History will be made as NASA. And SpaceX partnered to launch a
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  solar powered spacecraft on a voyage that will span 2.5
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  billion miles. This journey is into the heart
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  of our solar system, and it'll propel humanity further into the
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  cosmos than ever before to the main asteroid belt situated
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  between Mars and Jupiter. Now what's the purpose of this
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  mission, though? It's to lay bare the mysteries
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  of an enigmatic asteroid designated 16 Psyche.
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  The metallic composition of 16 Psyche, chiefly iron and nickel,
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  has been the source of much speculation and excitement, and
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  estimates pegged the potential worth of this asteroid at an
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  astronomical 10,000 quadrillion dollars.
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  That's a figure that could revolutionize economies and
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  industry as we know them. But beyond the material riches
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  lies an ever more significant treasure, a unique opportunity
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  for planetary scientists to study an iron core that looks
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  like. And could be like the center of
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  our own Earth Now this mission will expand our understanding of
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  these iron cores and may well unveil an entirely new class of
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  metal worlds in our solar system.
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  Now, NASA has recently provided an online update regarding the
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  mission, revealing that a team of around 30 dedicated engineers
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  and technicians working tirelessly to ready the
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  spacecraft, dubbed Psyche, in accordance with its asteroid
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  target. Now, as per the schedule, Psyche
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  will be launched atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket blasting off
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  from Space Complex 39 a Kennedy Space Center, Thursday, October
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  5th, 2023 at 10:38 AM Eastern Time.
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  Now, this launch window remains open until Wednesday, October
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  25th, 2023, offering multiple opportunities for a successful
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  liftoff, although Falcon Heavy has been typically utilized to
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  launch heavy satellites. Psyche marks its maiden
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  interplanetary launch milestone for the vehicle.
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  Our focus has shifted to safely completing the final mechanical
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  closeout of the spacecraft and preparing the team for
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  operations at Henry Stone, Psyche's project manager at
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  NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, they
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  said. We are counting down the days to
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  the launch and following Earth's gravity escape, the Psyche
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  spacecraft will utilize solar electric propulsion.
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  To accomplish its six year journey to asteroid Psyche now
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  asteroid Psyche, measuring approximately 173 miles at its
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  widest point, presents an extraordinary opportunity to
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  examine a metal rich celestial body.
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  Scientists hypothesize that the asteroid might be a remnant core
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  of a planetisimal in early planet's building block, and
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  once Psyche reaches the asteroid, it'll spend no less
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  than 26 months orbiting it. Gathering in valuable images and
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  other data to illuminate its composition and its history.
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  And before this can occur, though, the assembly, testing
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  and launch operations phase needs to be completed by the
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  team of engineers and technicians.
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  And after wrapping up several weeks of functional testing of
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  the science instruments and spacecraft hardware and
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  software, the team is set to finalize the spacecraft
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  preparations. Now these final stages include
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  removing the remaining testing cables.
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  Reinstalling previously removed exterior panels for
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  accessibility and completing the thermal blanketing later this
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  month, the team will integrate and test the deployment of the
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  immense solar arrays. By mid August.
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  The slow and careful progress of loading all 2392 pounds of
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  propellant, the neutral gas xenon, will commence.
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  Now. Louis Dominguez, the systems and
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  electrical lead for assembly, test and launch operations
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  express confidence in the progress made thus far stating.
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  We are moving forward and we're confident that when we're on the
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  pad, we'll be ready to hit the button.
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  The Psyche mission is a product of numerous collaborators.
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  Arizona State University leads the endeavor.
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  NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of
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  Caltech in Pasadena, takes on the roles of overall management,
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  system engineering, integration testing and mission operations.
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  Max, our technologies in Palo Alto, CA supplied the high power
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  solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis.
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  Now, the spacecraft will also carry a technology demonstration
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  instrument, the Deep Space Optical Communications.
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  This tool will be used to test high data rate laser
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  communications that could potentially be employed by
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  future NASA missions. Psyche is the 14th mission
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  selected as part of NASA's Discovery program, overseen by
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  the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL,
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  and as humanity edges closer to this groundbreaking launch.
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  We're getting excited. Everyone's getting excited about
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  it. It's going to be one of the most
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  monumental launches in the history of humankind.
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  Now if you're interested in this, please take a second and
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  hit the subscribe or follow button on whatever podcast
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  platform you're on right now because it helps out the show
• 6:49
  tremendously. And also thank you for listening
• 6:52
  today and thank you for being here and spending your time
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  here. Also, please take care of
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  yourselves and each other and I will see you in the next one.