Go Clipper

Is this not a beautiful sight? Europa Clipper sits atop a Falcon Heavy awaiting liftoff at launch complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Launch is set for 1206 EDT (1606 UTC) October 14. Clipper is the largest spacecraft NASA has ever built for a planetary mission, 30.5 meters tip to tip when its solar arrays are extended. Orbital operations at Jupiter are to begin in April of 2030, with the first of 49 Europa flybys occurring the following year. The closest flyby will take the spacecraft to within 25 kilometers of the surface. Go Europa Clipper!

Photo Credit: NASA.

In less than 24 hours, NASA's @EuropaClipper spacecraft is slated to launch from @NASAKennedy in Florida aboard a @SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Tune in at 2pm PT / 5pm ET as experts discuss the prelaunch status of the mission. https://t.co/Nq36BeKieX

— NASA JPL (@NASAJPL) October 13, 2024