NASA's Psyche mission is set for lift-off, with the launch window opening at 10:19 EDT (14:19 UTC / 15:19 BST) on Friday 13 October.
The mission had been due to launch on Thursday 12 October, but NASA says bad weather caused them to reschedule the launch for Friday.
The spacecraft will launch atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center.
It will then make its way to the main asteroid belt to study Asteroid 16 Psyche, potentially uncovering some of the secrets of the Solar System
You can watch the live launch of the Psyche mission via NASA TV at the bottom of this article.
What is the Psyche Mission?
The Psyche mission is the first mission to study a metallic asteroid up close, and in doing so could reveal many of the secrets of the early Solar System.
The target of the mission is Asteroid 16 Psyche, which is an M-type asteroid that mission scientists believe could have volcanic ‘lava’ plains of pure iron and steep mountains of metal.
The Psyche mission is tasked with exploring the asteroid's nature, as well as its composition and evolution.
And because asteroids are primordial relics left over from the formation of our Solar System, studying Asteroid 16 Psyche could shed light on the origin and evolution of the Solar System.
After Psyche launches, it will perform a gravity assist fly-by of Mars in 2026, which will slingshot the spacecraft to reach its target asteroid by the summer of 2029.
Psyche will then remain in orbit around the asteroid, studying its magnetic field, its gravity field and topography with a suite of scientific instruments.
The mission will also attempt to analyse the chemical composition of the asteroid.
How to watch the Psyche launch live
You can watch full live coverage of the Psyche launch via NASA TV in the window below.
Coverage begins at 09:15 EDT (13:15 UTC / 14:15 BST).
