Atlas launches lunar missions
Posted: Fri, Jun 19, 2009, 7:46 AM ET (1146 GMT)
An Atlas 5 rocket successfully launched a pair of NASA missions to study the Moon, the first US lunar missions in a decade. The Atlas 5 401 lifted off at 5:32 pm EDT (2132 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) spacecraft. The launch was delayed 20 minutes because of weather at the Cape. LRO will arrive at the Moon four days after launch and enter a 50-kilometer polar orbit around it. The spacecraft carries cameras and other instruments to return images, spectral data, and other information about the lunar surface and environment. LCROSS, which remained attached to the rocket's Centaur upper stage, will take a slower trip to the Moon, gradually widening its orbit until it is on an impact trajectory with the Moon in early October. LCROSS will separate from the Centaur and observe its impact on the Moon before it itself collides with it.
An Atlas 5 rocket successfully launched a pair of NASA missions to study the Moon, the first US lunar missions in a decade. The Atlas 5 401 lifted off at 5:32 pm EDT (2132 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) spacecraft. The launch was delayed 20 minutes because of weather at the Cape. LRO will arrive at the Moon four days after launch and enter a 50-kilometer polar orbit around it. The spacecraft carries cameras and other instruments to return images, spectral data, and other information about the lunar surface and environment. LCROSS, which remained attached to the rocket's Centaur upper stage, will take a slower trip to the Moon, gradually widening its orbit until it is on an impact trajectory with the Moon in early October. LCROSS will separate from the Centaur and observe its impact on the Moon before it itself collides with it.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Report outlines cost growth in canceled NASA exploration programs
Posted: Sat, Jun 27 11:14 AM ET (1514 GMT) Perseverance Mars rover finds more potential biosignatures
Posted: Sat, Jun 27 11:12 AM ET (1512 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Monday, June 29
Has Rocket Lab launched us across political threshold?
Radio New Zealand — 5:46 am ET (0946 GMT) SpaceX launches rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base Sunday morning
KSBY-TV San Luis Obispo, CA — 5:42 am ET (0942 GMT) SpaceX Valuation and Defense Demand Could Spark a Space-Tech IPO Wave in Warsaw, Creotech CEO Says
Bloomberg News — 5:42 am ET (0942 GMT) The Exploration Company is Recruiting for Its Nyx Crew Team in Houston
European Spaceflight — 5:36 am ET (0936 GMT) Euclid studies Milky Way center, supports future Roman observations
NasaSpaceFlight.com — 5:34 am ET (0934 GMT) |
