OSIRIS REx launched to asteroid Bennu

NASA s OSIRISREx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, SecurityRegolith Explorer) spacecraft was launched by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 411 configuration rocket from Space Launch Complex (SLC)41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on 8 September 2016, at 23:05 UTC (19:05 EDT). OSIRISREx is the first U. S. mission to sample an asteroid (nearEarth asteroid Bennu), retrieve surface material and return it to Earth for study. Credit: NASA