Watch the Launch

Watch the Launch

Additional Media

First U.S. Sample Return Mission to an Asteroid Launches

On Sept. 8, NASA launched the Origins Spectral Interpretation Resource Identification Security - Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. OSIRIS-REx i...

Liftoff of OSIRIS-REx

An Atlas V rocket lifts off at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41.The mission is to send NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Exp...

360 Degree Encapsulation & Launch of OSIRIS-REx

Experience the encapsulation and launch of NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft as if you were actually standing on the launch pad! Drag your mouse to look around -and if you have a virtual reality headset, m...

OSIRIS-REx

Overview

Destination: Heliocentric N/A
Mission: Robotic Exploration

Heliocentric N/A Space Launch Complex 41 Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA Probability: 90%

The Origins-Spectral Interpretation-Resource Identification-Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS REx) mission will be the first U.S. mission to carry samples from an asteroid back to Earth and will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our understanding of asteroids that could impact Earth.

Atlas V 411

Family:
Configuration: 411

Atlas V with 4m fairing, 1 SRB, 1 Centaur upper stage engine.

See Details
Specifications
  • Max Stage
    2
  • Length
    58.3 m
  • Diameter
    3.8 m
  • Fairing Diameter
  • Launch Mass
  • Thrust
Family
  • Name
    Atlas V 411
  • Family
  • Variant
    411
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Atlas V 411
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $115000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    8080.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    5950.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
    1935.0 kg
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

United Launch Alliance

United Launch Alliance

(ULA)

CEO: Mark Peller Founded: 2006 Successes: 175 Failures: 0 Pending: 36

Agency Type:

United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. ULA was formed in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies which provide spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. ULA launches from both coasts of the US. They launch their Atlas V vehicle from LC-41 in Cape Canaveral and LC-3E at Vandeberg. Their Delta IV launches from LC-37 at Cape Canaveral and LC-6 at Vandenberg.

INFO WIKI
NASA

Asteroid Bennu’s Rugged Surface Baffled NASA, We Finally Know Why

In one of the biggest surprises of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, its target asteroid, Bennu, turned out to be a jagged, rugged world covered in large boulders, with few of the smooth patches of sandy or pebbly material scientists had expected…

NASA

Solving Asteroid Bennu’s Mysteries

These X-ray computed tomography (XCT) scans released on March 17, 2026, give us a glimpse inside asteroid Bennu. They show the most common types of crack networks observed in Bennu samples; these networks solved a mystery that baffled NASA…

SpaceDaily

Amino acids in Bennu asteroid hint at icy radioactive origin

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Feb 10, 2026 Amino acids discovered in samples from the Bennu asteroid may have formed in an icy, radioactive environment in the early solar system, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. The find…

SpaceDaily

OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft completes Earth flyby on its journey to explore Apophis

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 26, 2025 NASA's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft flew within 2,136 miles of Earth on Tuesday, Sept. 23, as part of its mission to study the near-Earth asteroid Apophis. During its close approach, the spacecraft reco…

NASA

NASA’s Bennu Samples Reveal Complex Origins, Dramatic Transformation

Asteroid Bennu, sampled by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission in 2023, is a mixture of dust that formed in our solar system, organic matter from interstellar space, and pre-solar system stardust. Its unique and varied contents were dramatically tra…

Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Space Launch Complex 41


Kinetica 1
Success
13 hours, 4 minutes ago
9 satellites
Launch Area 130 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Share-ride of 9 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, details TBD.


Falcon 9
Success
15 hours, 20 minutes ago
Starlink Group 15-27
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 2D
Success
1 day, 6 hours ago
PIESAT-2 13-16
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.


Electron
Success
1 day, 13 hours ago
Owl By The Dozen (StriX Launch 12)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
3 days ago
Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Satellite serial number and Cosmos designation not confirmed. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite n…


Kuaizhou 11
Success
3 days, 14 hours ago
SpaceTY-51 & 52
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

2 Earth observation radar satellites built by the Chinese satellite manufacturer SpaceTY.


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 15 hours ago
USSF-259
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

USSF-259 is a classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield …


Long March 12
Success
3 days, 16 hours ago
SatNet LEO Group 25
Commercial LC-2 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
4 days, 3 hours ago
Progress MS-35 (96P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Gravity-1
Success
4 days, 19 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #16
Yellow Sea (launch location 5) - Haiyang Oriental Spaceport

9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with …