NASA's OSIRIS-REx halfway to gravity assist

A spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station last year is about halfway to its milestone of using Earth’s gravity to slingshot itself toward an asteroid.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, launched Sept. 8 on an Atlas V rocket from Launch Complex 41, is scheduled to make a close pass of Earth on Sept. 22, according to a release.

The spacecraft will analyze and quickly retrieve a sample from asteroid Bennu for return to Earth.

It’s scheduled to approach Bennu in August 2018 and survey it for more than a year. OSIRIS-REx is expected to retrieve a sample in July 2020 and return it to Earth by Sept. 2023.

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