NASA awards Launch Services Contract for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite

.

GPS News

.

NASA awards Launch Services Contract for Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
by Staff Writers
Washington DC (SPX) Dec 18, 2014

File image.

NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission. TESS will launch aboard a Falcon 9 v1.1 launch vehicle, with liftoff targeted for August 2017 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The total cost for NASA to launch TESS is approximately $87 million, which includes the launch service, spacecraft processing, payload integration, tracking, data and telemetry, and other launch support requirements.

TESS's science goal is to detect transiting exoplanets orbiting nearby bright stars. During a three-year funded science mission, TESS will sample hundreds of thousands of stars in order to detect a large sample of exoplanets, with an emphasis on discovering Earth- and super-Earth-sized planets in the solar neighborhood.

The Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for management and oversight of the Falcon 9 v1.1 launch services for TESS.

The TESS Mission is led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with oversight by the Explorers Program at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

.

Related Links
NASA's Launch Services Program
Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com

Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks

US Space Launcher to Get 60 Russian Engines in $1Bln Deal
Moscow (Sputnik) Dec 18, 2014
Russian design bureau Energomash has signed a contract with the US-based Orbital Sciences Corporation for the delivery of 60 RD-181 rocket engines to be used to power the Antares rocket's first stage, Russia's Izvestiya newspaper reported Wednesday. "We have committed to deliver a total of 60 engines. Currently, there is a firm contract for 20 engines which we have begun moving forward wit ... read more

Can returning crops to their wild states help feed the world?

Germany introduces bird flu test for ducks, geese

Study: modern agriculture has weakened human bones

Former Guatemala gum growers live off sustainable jungle

Switching to spintronics

Germanium comes home to Purdue for semiconductor milestone

Room temp quantum optics chip geneates tunable photon-pair spectrum

Unusual electronic state found in new class of unconventional superconductors

Composite plane life cycle assessment shows lighter planes are the future

Satellite firm Stevenson Astrosat moves into spacecraft systems

Helibras returns modernized Brazilian Army helicopters

Airbus Helicopters delivers aircraft to Spanish military

Honda to recall almost 570,000 vehicles in China

Rice study fuels hope for natural gas cars

Google self-driving car prototype ready to try road

Dongfeng, Huawei partner for Internet-enabled cars

US officials see progress in China trade talks

WTO appeals panel sides with China in US anti-dumping duties row

Italy arrest 18 over China bank transfers via British company

China steps up plan for new export corridor into Europe

Ecuador returning German money in environment row

Clearing rainforests distorts wind and water, packs climate wallop beyond carbon

Seeing the forest for the trees

NASA Study Shows 13-year Record of Drying Amazon Caused Vegetation Declines

NASA's IMAGE and Cluster Missions Reveal Origin of Theta Auroras

Salinity matters

NASA's Spaceborne Carbon Counter Maps New Details

CryoSat extends its reach on the Arctic

Dartmouth researchers create 'green' process to reduce molecular switching waste

ORNL microscopy pencils patterns in polymers at the nanoscale

Nanoscale resistors for quantum devices

New technique allows low-cost creation of 3-D nanostructures

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.