Lunar Reconnaisance Orbiter

NASA LUNAR SPACECRAFT SHIPS SOUTH IN PREPARATION FOR LAUNCH

GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO,
spacecraft was loaded on a truck Wednesday to begin its two-day
journey to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is targeted
for April 24.

The spacecraft was built by engineers at Goddard, where it recently
completed two months of tests in a thermal vacuum chamber. During its
time in the chamber, the spacecraft was subjected to hot and cold
temperatures it will experience as it orbits the moon.

The satellite's mission is one of the first steps in NASA's plan to
return astronauts to the moon. LRO will spend at least one year in a
low polar orbit on its primary exploration mission, with the
possibility of three more years to collect additional detailed
scientific information about the moon and its environment.

The orbiter will carry seven instruments to provide scientists with
detailed maps of the lunar surface and enhance our understanding of
the moon's topography, lighting conditions, mineralogical composition
and natural resources. Information gleaned from LRO will be used to
select safe landing sites, determine locations for future lunar
outposts and help mitigate radiation dangers to astronauts. The polar
regions of the moon are the main focus of the mission because
continuous access to sunlight may be possible and water ice may exist
in permanently shadowed areas of the poles.

"This is the culmination of four years of hard work by everyone on the
LRO Project," said Cathy Peddie, LRO deputy project manager at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "LRO now begins its
launch site processing, where it will be prepped for integration with
our sister mission LCROSS, and eventually encapsulated in the Atlas V
for its journey to the moon."

LRO's instruments have considerable heritage from previous planetary
science missions, enabling the spacecraft to transition to a research
phase under the direction of NASA's Science Mission Directorate one
year after launch.

Accompanying LRO on its journey to the moon will be the Lunar Crater
Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, a mission that will
impact the lunar surface in its search for water ice. The LCROSS
mission is managed by NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field,
Calif.

Goddard manages the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's
Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information about LRO, visit:

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Mission: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/Lunar Crater Observation and
Sensing Satellite (LRO/LCROSS)
Launch Vehicle: Atlas V
Launch Pad: Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Date: No Earlier Than May 20, 2009
Launch Time: 4:38 - 5:28 p.m. EDT

NASA now is targeting May 20 for launch instead of April 24 after
another Atlas V government launch, also on Launch Complex 41,
experienced technical problems and was delayed.

NASA's Lunar Crater Observation Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS arrived
at the Astrotech facility in Titusville, Fla., near Kennedy Space
Center, on Feb. 19. It is now undergoing checkout and prelaunch
preparations. The spacecraft is managed by NASA's Ames Research
Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, arrived at the Astrotech
facility on Feb. 13. The spacecraft was uncrated and transferred to
Astrotech the same day, where covers were removed and technicians
performed a black-light inspection. The spacecraft's solar arrays
were attached and deployed, and a spacecraft activation test was
conducted on Feb. 15. The Deep Space Network end-to-end test was
completed last week. LRO and LCROSS will be integrated in mid-April.
LRO is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

The Centaur stage of the Atlas V arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station on Feb. 20. It was offloaded and transported to the Atlas
Spaceflight Operations Center facility on Feb. 21. The launch vehicle
fairing halves arrived at Astrotech on Feb 26. The Atlas payload
fairings were moved from Astrotech's north encapsulation bay into the
facility's spin bay on March 3.

Mission: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/Lunar Crater Observation and
Sensing Satellite (LRO/LCROSS)
Launch Vehicle: Atlas V
Launch Pad: Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Date: May 21, 2009
Launch Time: 5:32 - 6:32 p.m. EDT

NASA now is targeting May 21 for the launch of LRO/LCROSS instead of
May 20 to optimize mission science.

Last week, the LRO spacecraft team successfully completed tests of the
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera and performed a Mini-Radio
Frequency Comprehensive Performance Test. A black light cleanliness
inspection also was done.

dernières nouvelles:

Mission: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/Lunar Crater Observation and
Sensing Satellite (LRO/LCROSS)
Launch Vehicle: Atlas V
Launch Pad: Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Date: June 17, 2009
Launch Time: 3:51 p.m. EDT

Early Thursday morning, the United Launch Alliance team transported
the LRO/LCROSS spacecraft from the Astrotech payload processing
facility in Titusville, Fla., to the Atlas vertical integration
facility at Launch Complex 41. The lift was completed and LRO/LCROSS
is attached to the Atlas booster.

Preparations were under way Friday for an integrated systems test
scheduled to occur today. It is the major test performed after the
spacecraft are mated to the Atlas V launch vehicle.

lancement avec succès!

le "vrai" départ du retour sur la lune?

mises en orbite réussies

Un an après LRO nous a dévoilé les sites des missions Apollo:
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