IonStorm

Thanks! Which design: dinosaur, shield, or triangle logo? Sadly, the "Kiss my asteroid!" mugs were limited edition. P.S. Breaking Bad fans will also appreciate that searching for chiral compounds is an OSIRIS-REx objective. In our case, not D-methamphetamine (dangerous drug) vs. L-methamphetamine (mild decongestant) but compounds important for the origin and evolution of life, e.g. http://www.labnews.co.uk/features/reaching-origins-life-22-10-2015/ http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acscentsci.6b00074

Indeed! It is an opportunity to rehearse some of our procedures and perhaps get some science at the same time. See also, https://dslauretta.com/2017/01/19/searching-for-the-earth-trojan-asteroids/

I look forward to it and would love to see what you come up with. I may open a new challenge during the Bennu encounter. Until then, here is the last video of the bottom of the spacecraft which will ever be taken and the first image of the sample return capsule taken in space.

No, but SpaceX does.

Looking through the posts, I have found the following entries. Thought the contest has ended, you can still post your mission here for the fun and education of it all. Winners in each category determined by review between OSIRIS-REx Project Scientist and Social Media Lead. Congratulations. 1. Most accurate spacecraft reproduction in stock KSP with no mods Name Entry Date Proof @MarkoeZ (Winner) May 2 http://i.imgur.com/vnt7qZ0.png 2. Most accurate spacecraft reproduction with unlimited use of mods Name Entry Date Proof @Gojira1000 May 1 http://i.imgur.com/6xpkuJI.png @Wonderbreadninja (Winner) June 19 https://youtu.be/LQZfidhpIr8 http://imgur.com/a/qStp3 @TheUnamusedFox June 21 http://imgur.com/a/GKE0V @Ourworldalpha1 August 2 http://imgur.com/a/JAYHx http://imgur.com/a/rAZWE @Bev7787 Sept 3 http://i.imgur.com/mvi3u3h.png 3. Most accurate reproduction of OSIRIS-REx mission design in the KSP universe (unlimited mods) Name Entry Date Proof @Jetski March 30 http://imgur.com/a/DETSl/ @Nefrums (Winner) June 20 http://imgur.com/a/OKXcE/ @AnTREXon July 3 https://youtu.be/hiKsdMQsFTk @Thomas H. August 13 https://youtu.be/oCXegq3YlBU Lane Jain* Aug 13 https://youtu.be/9ccH_3-lGUI *Accidentally found on YouTube, but not entered here. Listed for information only. 4. Most accurate reproduction of OSIRIS-REx mission design in RSS/RO (unlimited mods) None 5. Lowest ∆V OSIRIS-REx mission design in the KSP universe to (unlimited mods) None 6. Lowest ∆V OSIRIS-REx mission design in RSS/RO (unlimited mods) None 7. Funniest and most epic fail None Upon notification, winners (and @KillAshley for including Bennu in Kopernicus) can have OSIRIS-REx swag mailed to them, if they wish to provide an address via private message. All contestants and individuals who have provided substantive contributions to this forum have permission to add this .gif to their signature: http://i.imgur.com/ZekT7hX.gif Thank you for participating and for your interest in OSIRIS-REx, NASA, and space exploration.

At launch +30 days Phase C/D is over, this signifies the end of construction, testing, and launch operations. OSIRIS-REx launched exactly 30 days ago at 7:05:00.180 EST and prepares for its first trajectory correction maneuver http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2016/nasa-tests-thrusters-on-journey-to-asteroid-bennu. And so the entries for this contest is over. I will tally the responses and award prizes (digital and real for winners willing to have OSIRIS-REx pins and stickers mailed to them) shortly. Thank you for your interest. OSIRIS-REx will continue towards a main engine burn in December, Earth gravity assist next September, Bennu encounter the following summer, sampling in 2020, and Earth return to Utah September 24, 2023 at 8:53am MDT. Keep looking out for OSIRIS-REx information and enjoy KSP!

Kennedy Space Center has posted a bunch more photos. https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasakennedy/sets/72157668020787040 Here are launch videos to help you too, among many on the web. Note that OSIRIS-REx launched ~180ms into the opening of the window, so the nominal timelines in pre-launch videos are pretty accurate.

Most of the team moves to other projects. (This is one reason launch is bittersweet. I will now rarely see the friends I have made and worked with for years.) There will be periodic updates https://dslauretta.com/2016/09/10/osiris-rex-day-2-in-space/ through the DSN http://eyes.nasa.gov/dsn/dsn.html. So the navigation team is getting busy as the build team moves on. (Note that the enhanced acceleration noted was truly tiny, on the order of µm/s2.) My time on the project also decreases--there is less for me to do on a daily basis and this saves money for OSIRIS-REx. There are some scheduled activities: calibrations, rehearsals of observing modes (ground testing is great, but not quite the same as in space), tweaks to the software. 15 days after launch we turn on the instruments for a health check. In January we do a maneuver to put us on track with Bennu and prepare for EGA in a year.

I was on console in the event of an anomaly. Luckily, it was pretty boring.

The rules have been updated with a close date of October 8, 2016 at 7:05:00 pm EDT. There are now numerous videos widely available showing the launch you can use to improve realism. Video feed from the Centaur camera including OSIRIS-REx separation is here. More video should be posted later. Please post your entry in this thread, state for which category you are competing. One entry per person per category. Evaluations will not occur until after the contest has closed. Have fun.

I added more images to the same album. http://imgur.com/a/0RbED (I guess these albums don't display anymore, I've been busy and hadn't noticed) The spacecraft will jettison the sample return capsule to land on Earth. At the same time the spacecraft will divert away from Earth and enter into heliocentric orbit. We expect it to have plenty of fuel and the full instrument suite. There it is an asset be used, should NASA choose to. OSIRIS-REx extends the 3m TAGSAM arm and autonomously descends to the surface of Bennu. It touches for about 5 seconds before the spring in the arm and pushes it away from the surface. During that 5s, high pressure N2 gas fires and stirs up the regolith (stones and dust) and blows it into the TAGSAM head, which is essentially an air filter. TAGSAM stands for Touch And Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism. We have been describing this TAG as a gentle kiss or a high-five.

I don't have a go/no go call, but I am the Project Scientist and the science lead for contamination control. For the latter, should there be an anomaly with the purge system, I need to be informed and ready to make recommendations. For the former, I will experience the details so I can share them with other scientists and the public--including you.

Everything looks good for launch tonight, the enable plugs were set on the spacecraft and final doors closed out on the fairing in the early morning of 9/6 and rocket was rolled to the pad 9/7. I take my station on console this afternoon. You can follow it on NASA TV: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public While you wait, here are some pre-launch press briefings. (One includes a poster to this forum.)

I've been busy lately, sorry didn't notice the ping. There is a category for aesthetics only.

The information and downloads of the videos are here: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/Gallery/OSIRIS-REx.html https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/osiris-rex_press_kit.pdf http://www.asteroidmission.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/OSIRIS-REx_FactSheet.pdf 8/20/16 was media day at KSC, so be on the lookout for news stories and interviews that might interest and give you insight into your challenge entry.

If you are hunting for more information for mission realism there is a media event today: What: NASA Headquarters Press Briefing on the Launch of OSIRIS-REx When: Today, Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 2 pm EDT How to Watch: The broadcast will be on NASA TV and live streamed through their website at http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv More Details, including a full list of speakers: http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-host-media-briefing-on-launch-of-asteroid-bound-spacecraft

I'm unfamiliar. This is our solar system at 1/10th scale? If so, I think it is Stock KSP with mods.

Exactly. SRBs are expensive, so buy as few as you need. Yes, every Atlas V SRB configuration is asymmetric so they all rely on the RD180 gimbaling. Perfect. Atlas V nomenclature is 1st digit is fairing size in meters (4 or 5), 2nd digit is number of SRB (0-5), 3rd digit is number of motors on the Centaur (1 or 2).

Our Common Core Booster is in the VIF.

Many have asked about the asymmetrical solid booster configuration, so here is an article on the Atlas V 411 configuration and OSIRIS-REx. https://spaceflightnow.com/2016/08/08/buildup-of-unusual-launcher-begins-for-nasas-asteroid-sample-return-mission/

Yes. I have a challenge as well:

Social media users are invited to apply for credentials to attend the targeted Sep. 8 launch of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. OSIRIS-REx is the first-ever NASA mission to travel to an asteroid, retrieve a sample, and return the sample to Earth. If your passion is to communicate and engage the world via social media, then this is the event for you. Take the opportunity to be on the front line and share the excitement of the OSIRIS-REx launch with your followers on social media. A maximum of 100 social media users will be selected to attend this two-day behind-the-scenes event on Sept. 7-8. NASA Social participants will have the opportunity to: view a launch of ULA Atlas V rocket tour NASA facilities at Kennedy Space Center hear from OSIRIS-REx scientists about what they hope to learn from this first-ever asteroid sample return mission speak with representatives from NASA, ULA and Center for the Advancement of Science in Space. view and take photographs of the Atlas V rocket on the launch pad meet fellow space enthusiasts who are active on social media meet members of OSIRIS-REx, ULA and NASA's social media teams Registration is now open on this page. For U.S. citizens active on social media, the deadline to apply is 1 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2016. All social media accreditation applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Details at http://www.nasa.gov/social/osiris-rex-social

Our rocket has arrived. http://imgur.com/a/0RbED

Sure.

Ah, a hypothetical based on a launch system doing something it wasn't designed to do. According to this http://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/docs/Published_Papers/Upper_Stages/CentaurUpperstageApplicabilityforSeveralDayMissionDurationswithMinorInsulationModificationsAIAA20075845.pdf it could be modified with 100 pounds of extra insulation to reduce boiloff to 1%/day.