Countdown Begins: SpaceX's Psyche Mission to Asteroid Set for Launch

SpaceX is set to launch NASA's Psyche spacecraft on October 5, marking the first interplanetary mission for the Falcon Heavy rocket. The launch window extends until October 25, but a government shutdown on October 1 could potentially delay the launch. Psyche will travel to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter to study a metallic object believed to be the exposed core of a protoplanet. The Falcon Heavy rocket, the second-most powerful in operation, has previously launched seven times but has not yet carried a NASA payload.