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Emily Lakdawalla • Aug 15, 2016

Photos: OSIRIS-REx prepares for launch

Only 24 days remain until the opening of OSIRIS-REx's launch period, and final preparations are underway. There is a lot to do in the final months before a launch, but things seem to be going well, according to what I can see from the NASA Kennedy photo album and principal investigator Dante Lauretta's Twitter feed. There is a televised briefing scheduled for Wednesday. Here are just a few photos and bits of news from the last several weeks:

Inspecting the inside of the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule
Inspecting the inside of the OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule Taken inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center on July 13, 2016, during testing of the sample return capsule door.Image: NASA / Kim Shiflett
Covering OSIRIS-REx in blankets
Covering OSIRIS-REx in blankets On July 27, 2016, technicians install thermal blankets on OSIRIS-REx. The multilayered material will insulate the spacecraft's interior from both hot and cold temperatures experienced in space.Image: NASA / Michelle Stone
OSIRIS-REx's Centaur
OSIRIS-REx's Centaur The Centaur upper stage of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket arrives inside the Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, on July 21, 2016.Image: NASA / Cory Huston
OSIRIS-REx's rocket is lifted into position
OSIRIS-REx's rocket is lifted into position On August 8, 2016, the first stage of the Atlas V rocket that will send OSIRIS-REx to space was raised to a vertical position at Space Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.Image: NASA / Glenn Benson

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