NASA's Psyche DAPM Deployment and Stow for Launch

A team of engineers and technicians work on deploying and stowing stationary plasma thrusters (SPT) on NASA's Psyche spacecraft inside the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 4, 2023. This is part of the assembly, test, and launch operations preparations. The SPT are on a dual axis positioning mechanism (DAPM), and together they make a DSM, or DAPM-actuated SPT module. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.

A team of engineers and technicians work on deploying and stowing stationary plasma thrusters (SPT) on NASA's Psyche spacecraft inside the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 4, 2023. This is part of the assembly, test, and launch operations preparations. The SPT are on a dual axis positioning mechanism (DAPM), and together they make a DSM, or DAPM-actuated SPT module. Psyche will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy. Launch is targeted for Oct. 5, 2023. Riding with Psyche is a pioneering technology demonstration, NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment.

Photographer NASA/Kim Shiflett
Album SpaceX_Psyche
Location Astrotech
ASUATLOArizona State UniversityAssemblyAstrotechDAPMDAPM-Actuated SPT ModuleDSMDSOCDeep Space Optical CommunicationDual Axis Positioning MechanismFalcon HeavyJPLJet Propulsion LabKSCKennedy Space CenterLSPLaunch Services ProgramMaxarNASANational Aeronautical and Space AdministrationPsycheRocketSPTSpaceXSpacecraftStationary Plasma ThrusterTestand Launch Operationsasteroidclean roomlaunch processingmetal-richspacecraft processing