SpaceX has launched a rocket carrying a planet-hunting NASA telescope into space
A NASA satellite has just catapulted into space with the help of Elon Musk’s SpaceX on the first-of-its-kind mission to discover planets beyond our solar system.
NASA’s Tess [transiting exoplanet survey satellite] took off on Wednesday evening in Florida with the help of SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The satellite is on a mission to find exoplanets, planets outside of our solar system that orbit a star.
Associate administrator of NASA’s science mission directorate in Washington, Thomas Zurbuchen, confirmed on Twitter that the launch had been successful:
The @NASA_TESS spacecraft is now safely in space after a beautiful launch. It will spend the next 60 days getting to its proper orbit where it will search for unknown worlds beyond our solar system: https://t.co/Q7B7dMs7sM pic.twitter.com/qN4RK3oTLs— Thomas Zurbuchen (@Dr_ThomasZ) April 19, 2018
SpaceX’s goal since it launched in 2002 has been to allow people to live on different planets. Since then, it has embarked on an ambitious programme, including launching its own rocket Falcon Heavy into Mars’ orbit in February this year.
Read more: Elon Musk’s SpaceX is sending a rocket to Mars
Zurbuchen said: “We are thrilled Tess is on its way to help us discover worlds we have yet to imagine, worlds that could possibly be habitable, or harbour life. With missions like the James Webb Space Telescope to help us study the details of these planets, we are ever the closer to discovering whether we are alone in the universe.”
Over the course of several weeks, Tess will eventually reach the moon to complete its science orbit around Earth. The spacecraft will take full-frame images every time it passes close to Earth.
“The targets Tess finds are going to be fantastic subjects for research for decades to come,” said Stephen Rinehart, Tess project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland. “It’s the beginning of a new era of exoplanet research.”
Read more: Walk out of meetings and cut off calls: Elon Musk shares productivity tips