LAUNCH OF TESS, Apr 18, 2018, Cape Canaveral, FL 6:51 pm ET (new date and time)

UPDATE, April 18:  The launch is on track for 6:51 pm ET tonight.  NASA TV coverage begins at 6:30 pm ET.  It also will be webcast by SpaceX.

All systems and weather are go for Falcon 9’s launch of @NASA_TESS today at 6:51 p.m. EDT, or 22:51 UTC. https://t.co/gtC39uBC7z pic.twitter.com/VgME3YRqwR

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 18, 2018

UPDATE, April 16:  SpaceX announced this afternoon that it is scrubbing the launch for today and will try again on Wednesday April 18.

Standing down today to conduct additional GNC analysis, and teams are now working towards a targeted launch of @NASA_TESS on Wednesday, April 18.

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 16, 2018

Original Entry:

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL at 6:32 pm ET on April 16, 2018.

NASA TV coverage begins at 6:00 pm ET.

TESS will search for planets orbiting other stars — exoplanets — from a unique highly elliptical Earth orbit with a period of 13.7 days.  NASA describes it as a 2:1 resonance orbit with the Moon.  The 13.7 period is half the period that the Moon revolves around Earth. It will transmit data back to the Earth each time it is closest to the planet (perigee), which is 67,000 miles (108,000 km).