Delta 2 launches GRAIL spacecraft
Posted: Sat, Sep 10, 2011, 12:56 PM ET (1656 GMT)
A Delta 2 rocket successfully launched a pair of NASA spacecraft that will study the Moon's interior. The Delta 2 7920H lifted off from Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, at 9:08 am EDT (1308 GMT) during the second of two one-second launch windows available Saturday. The rocket's upper stage deployed the twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft a little over an hour after liftoff. The two spacecraft will enter orbit around the Moon in four months, where they will map the Moon's gravity field to far higher precision than before, yielding new information about the Moon's interior. A launch attempt Thursday was scrubbed by high-level winds, while technical issues postponed Friday's launch attempt. The launch is the last scheduled Delta 2 launch from Cape Canaveral; one more Delta 2 is slated for launch next month from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
A Delta 2 rocket successfully launched a pair of NASA spacecraft that will study the Moon's interior. The Delta 2 7920H lifted off from Launch Complex 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, at 9:08 am EDT (1308 GMT) during the second of two one-second launch windows available Saturday. The rocket's upper stage deployed the twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft a little over an hour after liftoff. The two spacecraft will enter orbit around the Moon in four months, where they will map the Moon's gravity field to far higher precision than before, yielding new information about the Moon's interior. A launch attempt Thursday was scrubbed by high-level winds, while technical issues postponed Friday's launch attempt. The launch is the last scheduled Delta 2 launch from Cape Canaveral; one more Delta 2 is slated for launch next month from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, April 10
Amazon Leo to Launch 'Mid-2026,' CEO Hints at Lower Price Than Starlink
PC Magazine — 6:24 am ET (1024 GMT) Amazon’s Starlink competitor Leo gets a new date
The Verge — 6:23 am ET (1023 GMT) Space Force Picks 14 Firms to Compete to Build Reconnaissance Satellites
Air and Space Forces Magazine — 6:22 am ET (1022 GMT) Oxygen made from Moon dust for first time
The Daily Telegraph — 6:19 am ET (1019 GMT) This founder helped build SpaceX’s most powerful rocket engine. Now he’s building a ‘fighter jet for orbit.’
TechCrunch — 6:19 am ET (1019 GMT) |
