Wed, May 25, 2011
Lunar Orbiters Set For September Launch
NASA's twin GRAIL spacecraft were delivered to Kennedy Space
Center in Florida on May 20. The two Lockheed Martin vehicles will
undergo four months of final testing and processing in preparation
for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a United Launch
Alliance Delta II Heavy launch vehicle in early September.
NASA Artist's Rendering GRAIL Satellites On
Orbit
The lunar orbiters will fly 30 miles above the surface of the
moon in precision formation to determine the structure of the lunar
interior from crust to core and to advance understanding of the
thermal evolution of the moon.
"It has taken a great deal of dedication and hard work from the
entire team to bring us to this moment," said John Henk, GRAIL
program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "Building
two spacecraft simultaneously brought some challenges, but I'm
proud that we are delivering them to the launch site on schedule
and under budget."
Satellites Prepped For Transport
"It has taken a great deal of dedication and hard work from the
entire team to build two spacecraft simultaneously and achieve this
delivery milestone on schedule and under budget," said John Henk,
GRAIL program manager at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. "We
look forward to preparing for launch and achieving total mission
success on this important program."
Both of the 440-pound spacecraft were transported on an Air
Force C-17 transport plane in an environmentally controlled
container. The plane departed from Buckley Air Force Base near
Denver and touched down at 1940 EDT at Kennedy Space Center's
Shuttle Landing Facility. The spacecraft were then transported to
Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, FL, for final launch
processing.
The Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission
will fly nearly-identical spacecraft in tandem orbits around the
moon for several months to measure its gravity field in
unprecedented detail. The mission will also answer longstanding
questions about Earth's moon, and provide scientists a better
understanding of how Earth and other rocky planets in the solar
system formed.
More News
Airbus Racer Demonstrator Makes Inaugural Flight Airbus Helicopters' ambitious Racer demonstrator has achieved its inaugural flight as part of the Clean Sky 2 initiative, a corners>[...]
A little Bit Quieter, Said Testers, But in the End it's Still a DA40 Diamond Aircraft recently completed a little pilot project with Lufthansa Aviation Training, putting a pair of >[...]
Line Up And Wait (LUAW) Used by ATC to inform a pilot to taxi onto the departure runway to line up and wait. It is not authorization for takeoff. It is used when takeoff clearance >[...]
Contributing To The Accident Was The Pilot’s Use Of Methamphetamine... Analysis: The pilot departed on a local flight to perform low-altitude maneuvers in a nearby desert val>[...]
From 2015 (YouTube Version): Overcoming Obstacles To Achieve Their Dreams… At EAA AirVenture 2015, FedEx arrived with one of their Airbus freight-hauling aircraft and placed>[...]
Airbus Racer Helicopter Demonstrator First Flight Part of Clean Sky 2 Initiative
See All