How to watch NASA spacecraft Lucy launch into space this week

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — NASA is scheduled to motorboat its caller asteroid exploring spacecraft, Lucy, into abstraction Saturday morning.

After the launch, Lucy volition acceptable retired connected its way to go the archetypal spacecraft ever to sojourn Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids.

During its 12-year superior mission, Lucy is acceptable to research a record-breaking fig of asteroids, flying by 1 asteroid successful the star system’s main loop and 7 Trojan asteroids.

Jupiter's Trojan asteroids dwell of leftover earthy materials from the enactment of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, according to NASA. They stock an orbit with Jupiter arsenic it goes astir the sun.

In total, NASA says the spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin Space volition question astir 4 cardinal miles, making 3 and a fractional elephantine loops astir the sun.

Its way volition ellipse backmost to Earth 3 times for gravity assists, which NASA says volition marque it the archetypal spacecraft ever to instrumentality to our planet’s vicinity from the outer star system.

Lucy is scheduled to motorboat nary earlier than 5:34 a.m. ET connected Saturday, Oct. 16 connected a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 401 rocket from a analyzable astatine Cape Canaveral Space Force Station successful Florida.

NASA volition supply unrecorded motorboat sum opening astatine 5 a.m. ET connected NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.