Tue, Sep 03, 2013
Two Sites Will Have Countdown Clocks And Be Staffed By NASA Personnel
Residents and visitors for the launch of NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), scheduled to lift-off at 11:27 p.m. EDT, Sept. 6, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad-0B at the Wallops Flight Facility, will have two prime viewing locations. In partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Accomack County Board of Supervisors and the Town of Chincoteague, visitors to the area may view the launch from Robert Reed Park on Chincoteague or Beach Road spanning the area between Chincoteague and Assateague Islands.
The two sites will feature the LADEE launch countdown live and NASA personnel will be on hand to discuss the LADEE mission. In addition, a live broadcast of the launch operations will be shown on a big-screen projector in Robert Reed Park beginning at 9:30 p.m. on the day of launch.
"We're excited about this partnership with the community in providing an enhanced launch experience to members of the public," said Jeremy Eggers, public information officer for Wallops. "The live countdown and launch broadcast will place people in mission control on launch night for what is already a historic mission for Wallops and the Eastern Shore."
The Robert Reed Park and Beach Road viewing sites are the official viewing sites for the LADEE launch. Area residents and visitors to the area should note that the beach on Assateague Island (VA) will close at 7 p.m. on day of launch and will not be open for launch viewing given the safety area required for LADEE's launch trajectory. Furthermore, it's expected that the NASA Visitors Center will reach capacity early and close.
The LADEE mission has many firsts, including the first flight of the Minotaur V rocket, testing of a high-data-rate laser communication system, and the first lunar launch from Wallops. The probe will launch on a U.S. Air Force Minotaur V rocket, an excess ballistic missile converted into a space launch vehicle and operated by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, VA.
(LADEE image provided by NASA)
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