SpaceX launches the Psyche mission for NASA on a Falcon Heavy. Photo: NASA

SpaceX launched NASA’s Psyche mission on a Falcon Heavy mission on Friday morning, launching the spacecraft to an interplanetary transfer orbit. 

The Psyche spacecraft is now headed toward the asteroid of the same name, located in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This is NASA’s first mission to study an asteroid that has more metal than rock or ice. Psyche is one of the largest asteroids in the solar system. 

The Falcon Heavy mission took off at 10:19 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA confirmed after the mission that it is in full communication with the spacecraft, and the spacecraft is in good health. 

It will take the spacecraft six years to reach its destination. First, the spacecraft will go through a commissioning phase of three months to confirm the solar electric propulsion system works. It will not reach the Psyche asteroid until 2029. Once it reaches the asteroid, it will spend about 26 months in orbit, gathering images and other data.

The spacecraft will also test NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) —  NASA’s first demonstration of optical communications beyond the Earth-Moon system. The tech demo will not be used to relay Psyche mission data.

Arizona State University is leading the Psyche mission. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is responsible for mission operations. Maxar Technologies built the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis.

“Congratulations to the Psyche team on a successful launch, the first journey to a metal-rich asteroid,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The Psyche mission could provide humanity with new information about planet formation while testing technology that can be used on future NASA missions.”