OSIRIS REx – Analog Artist Digital World

We sat in the grass with the NASA vehicle assembly building behind us. with fire minute remaining in the countdown for the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission, we stood and moved up to a yellow rope than marked the safest distance from the launch pad. Everyone in the field stood as the system checks began. Fuel systems… GO. Telemetry … GO. Guidance… GO. It seemed like 50 different systems managers had to announce, GO. With all system go, the ground launch sequencer was go for auto sequence start and then the main engine started.

We were next to speakers, so we heard the rocket fire up. Then a few seconds later, a blinding light lifted up from the horizon. The sun was setting behind us, and it helped illuminate the smoke trail a bright orange. Then the sound wave of the rocket hit us. It was deep, resonant and it could be felt rumbling through us. One person described it like the sound of a dentists suction device. It was a picture perfect launch.

OSIRIS-REx separated from its United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at
8:04 p.m. The solar arrays deployed and are now powering the spacecraft. “With today’s successful launch, the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft embarks on a
journey of exploration to Bennu,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx
principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson. “I couldn’t
be more proud of the team that made this mission a reality, and I can’t
wait to see what we will discover at Bennu.”

In 2018, OSIRIS-REx will approach Bennu – which is the size of a small
mountain – and begin an intricate dance with the asteroid, mapping and
studying Bennu in preparation for sample collection. In July 2020, the
spacecraft will perform a daring maneuver in which its 11-foot arm will
reach out and perform a five-second “high-five” to stir up surface
material, collecting at least 2 ounces (60 grams) of small rocks and
dust in a sample return container. OSIRIS-REx will return the sample to
Earth in September 2023, when it will then be transported to NASA’s
Johnson Space Center in Houston for examination.

Naomi Butterfield has started working for NASA in Cape Canaveral doing coding. She works in the building right across from the Vehicle Assembly Building (in sketch). She invited some of her Kerouac House friends out to witness the launch of OSIRIS REx. NASA is a sprawling city unto itself. 900 people work in Naomi’s building alone. Long stretches of swamp lined roads separate the different areas. We stopped at the security check point where an armed guard checked Naomi’s badge and waved us through. An armored assault vehicle was parked on the side of the road. The vehicle assembly building was at the end of a long road. It always appeared to be the same size as we approached it. The building is huge. It is one of the largest buildings in the world based on it’s volume. The American flag painted on the building was the largest in the world when added in 1976 as part of United States Bicentennial celebrations. The blue star field on the America flag is the size of a regulation basketball court. Each star is six feet across.

We drove into a grass field and parked. About 8000 people showed up to watch the launch. The bleachers faced the wrong way. Back in the days of the space shuttle launches, the crowds were much larger. Press occupied a spot at the top of a small hill. We arrived several hours early which gave me time to face the wrong way and sketch the assembling crowd. Naomi and Janna conducted some Kerouac House business and the two teenage boys who had joined us explored.

OSIRIS REx, which is short for the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. Try saying that 5 times fast. It is on a 7 year mission to intercept the asteroid Bennu, collect a sample and then return back to earth. The vehicle will not land on the asteroid, instead it will fly next to it, spray nitrogen, and then touch and go to collect the sample of about 2 ounces. This asteroid could revolutionize our view of the beginning of the early solar system. Asteroids like Bennu are remnants from the formation of our solar system
more than 4.5 billion years ago. Scientists suspect that asteroids may
have been a source of the water and organic molecules for the early
Earth and other planetary bodies. That’s right they may have sparked life. An uncontaminated asteroid sample from
a known source would enable precise analyses, providing results far
beyond what can be achieved by spacecraft-based instruments or by
studying meteorites.

The countdown proceeded at a glacial pace, and then there was a 15 minute delay. Regardless, It was nice to sit with friends, and watch the sun set behind the vehicle Assembly building. I finished the sketch with ten minutes remaining in the countdown and I turned East to face the launch pad…

Liftoff.

OSIRIS REx to intercept asteroid.