If all goes according to plan, NASA’s new Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, will launch today at 6:32 pm ET from Cape Canaveral.
You can watch the stream below on NASA TV, which will be airing TESS-related coverage throughout the day:
Given how much press it’s gotten, you can tell that folks are pretty excited about TESS. The teeny telescope will replace the Kepler/K2 mission, which has already discovered thousands of exoplanets. TESS will look at as many as 200,000 stars in the closest 300 light-years around Earth.
Perhaps TESS will discover Earth 2.0—but it wouldn’t be able to pinpoint that for sure. The satellite is instead meant to create a catalogue of nearby planets that future telescopes, like the James Webb Space Telescope, can then inspect more closely. You can read all about what TESS can and can’t do here:
https://gizmodo.com/nasas-newest-planet-hunter-will-do-what-kepler-couldnt-1824213996
And here’s what it will take to really find a real Earth 2.0:
https://gizmodo.com/when-will-we-finally-find-a-truly-earth-like-exoplanet-1823067954
The Falcon 9 rocket is vertical and ready to go, according to SpaceX’s Twitter, and weather is 80% favorable for the scheduled launch:
Falcon 9 and @NASA_TESS are vertical on Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Weather is 80% favorable for today’s launch at 6:32 p.m. EDT, 22:32 UTC. pic.twitter.com/eEgVxT24No
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 16, 2018
NASA scientists are also hosting a Reddit AMA over on r/science.
This is exciting stuff!!! We’ll keep you updated if things change or if there’s any big news before liftoff.
Update 4:20PM ET: SpaceX confirmed via Twitter that the launch has been delayed to a target date of Wednesday, April 18 for additional analysis.
Standing down today to conduct additional GNC analysis, and teams are now working towards a targeted launch of @NASA_TESS on Wednesday, April 18.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 16, 2018
