Animations by
Walt Feimer
Released on August 17, 2016
OSIRIS-REx begins its journey to near-Earth asteroid Bennu from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral, aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. In addition to the launch vehicle's liquid-fueled main engine, its 411 configuration includes a strap-on solid rocket booster and a Centaur upper stage. When the launch window opens on the evening of September 8, 2016, the Atlas V will lift OSIRIS-REx above the Florida coastline and propel it eastward over the night side of Earth. Fifty-nine minutes later, OSIRIS-REx will separate from the Centaur upper stage, point its solar arrays at the rising sun, and embark on its nearly two-year cruise to Bennu.