TESS, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, is shown in this photo obtained by Reuters on March 28, 2018. NASA plans to send TESS into orbit from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set for blastoff sometime between April 16 and June on a two-year mission. On March 15, the spacecraft passed a review that confirmed it was ready for launch, NASA had said on Wednesday. With the help of a gravitational assist from the Moon, the spacecraft will settle into a 13.7-day orbit around Earth. Sixty days after the launch and following tests of its instruments, the satellite will begin its initial two-year mission.

Source: The Hindu March 29, 2018 06:18 UTC