NASA’s Psyche mission was due to launch before Oct. 11, but will now be delayed beyond 2022 due to testing concerns.
NASA has put the Psyche asteroid exploration mission on indefinite hold, citing a delay in the delivery of critical flight software and test gear. The agency says it can’t finish testing processes needed to carry out the mission before its launch deadline on Oct. 11. Originally slated to take off in 2022, the team behind the project will now take additional time to validate the flight software for safety. The initial goal was to reach its target in 2026, but owing to orbital position constraints, even a launch in 2023 or 2024 means the spacecraft won’t reach the asteroid until 2029 or 2030. During the test phase at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, its team encountered a compatibility issue in the test version of the software simulator.
