NASA TO LAUNCH LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITOR TO MOON TODAY AT 5:32 PM, JUNE 18, 2009

LIFTOFF !!! READ ON BELOW....
LUNAR RECONNAISSANCE ORBITOR
NASA'S FIRST STEP BACK TO THE MOON

The weather seems to be a Concern at the moment in the area and Nasa has decided if the launch goes today it will be at the 5:32 slot. To be determined as the storms move through.
















http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/launch/launch_blog.html

LRO/LCROSS Launch Coverage


Even after the tanks are filled, the propellants will continue to be slowly pumped in to replace the propellant that evaporates during the count, a process known as "topping off." Like the space shuttle, the Atlas launch pad is equipped with lines that funnel evaporating propellants away from the rocket until liftoff

The launch team is not working any technical issues now and the weather forecast remains 60 percent favorable for liftoff

The launch team is taking steps to prepare the Centaur liquid oxygen storage tank, Atlas liquid oxygen vault and mobile launcher platform supporting the Atlas for the extremely cold propellants that will begin flowing shortly

Each spacecraft will evaluate the lunar surface in unique ways. The LRO will go into orbit just 31 miles above the lunar surface. Using seven instruments, it will take high-resolution photos of the moon along with detailed readings of temperatures, radiation and other factors NASA needs to know when deciding where to send astronauts on future missions.

The LCROSS mission will search for water by guiding the empty Centaur upper stage into a permanently shadowed crater near the moon's south pole. The LCROSS will fly through the plume so its instruments can analyze the dust and elements before it collides with the moon itself

LRO on its own
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 06:17:13 PM EDT

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has separated from the Centaur upper stage and LCROSS spacecraft.

Centaur Shuts Down
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 06:14:18 PM EDT

The Centaur's single engine has shut off as planned and the LRO and LCROSS spacecraft are coasting toward the moon. The LRO spacecraft will separate in about two minutes and follow its own course that will let it reach the moon in four days. The LCROSS spacecraft will stay connected to the Centaur upper stage and they will go into a long orbit around the moon and Earth that will culminate in their planned collision into the lunar south pole.


Centaur Ignites Engine Second Time
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 06:09:14 PM EDT

The Centaur upper stage lit its engine for a second time to catapult the LRO and LCROSS spacecraft toward the moon. The burn will last five minutes. The rocket is over the Indian Ocean.

Centaur Engine Shuts Down as Planned
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:46:24 PM EDT

The single engine on the Centaur upper stage shut down as planned. It will restart later to put the LRO and LCROSS spacecraft on a trajectory toward the moon. The LRO will separate soon after the end of the second burn since it will follow a different path to the moon than the LCROSS and Centaur will take.

Centaur Firing
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:46:04 PM EDT

The Centaur upper stage is firing to push the LRO and LCROSS spacecraft higher and faster. The rocket is going 12,422 mph and climbing. It is 800 miles away from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

First Stage Booster Separation
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:38:19 PM EDT

The first stage of the Atlas V rocket has burned out and fallen away from the Centaur upper stage and the two moon-bound spacecraft.

Payload Fairing Separates
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:38:07 PM EDT

The payload fairing that protected the LRO and LCROSS spacecraft has fallen away from the rocket as planned.

Even after the tanks are filled, the propellants will continue to be slowly pumped in to replace the propellant that evaporates during the count, a process known as "topping off." Like the space shuttle, the Atlas launch pad is equipped with lines that funnel evaporating propellants away from the rocket until liftoff.

The launch team is not working any technical issues now and the weather forecast remains 60 percent favorable for liftoff.

The launch team is taking steps to prepare the Centaur liquid oxygen storage tank, Atlas liquid oxygen vault and mobile launcher platform supporting the Atlas for the extremely cold propellants that will begin flowing shortly.

Each spacecraft will evaluate the lunar surface in unique ways. The LRO will go into orbit just 31 miles above the lunar surface. Using seven instruments, it will take high-resolution photos of the moon along with detailed readings of temperatures, radiation and other factors NASA needs to know when deciding where to send astronauts on future missions.

The LCROSS mission will search for water by guiding the empty Centaur upper stage into a permanently shadowed crater near the moon's south pole. The LCROSS will fly through the plume so its instruments can analyze the dust and elements before it collides with the moon itself.

Atlas Flies Strong
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:34:17 PM EDT

The Atlas V rocket is gaining speed at altitude onthe strength of its RD-180 engine. It has just crossed the sound barrier and the region of maximum dynamic pressure. All systems working well. 11.3 miles high.

LIFTOFF!
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:32:33 PM EDT

Liftoff of NASA's newest lunar explorers!

Atlas, Centaur on Internal Power
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:30:16 PM EDT

The Atlas V booster and its Centaur upper stage are both operating on internal power. Two minutes to go.

Countdown Resumes
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:28:14 PM EDT

The clock is moving backwards again from the T-4 minute point. Launch time is 5:32 p.m.

Launch Teams "Go" for Liftoff
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:26:31 PM EDT

Working no technical issues and with the weather cleared over the launch site, NASA and United Launch Alliance controllers have declared themselves and the Atlas V rocket ready for liftoff at 5:32 p.m. The two spacecraft aboard, the LRO and LCROSS, are also ready for their missions to the moon.

Launch Polls on Deck
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:18:56 PM EDT

The launch teams are preparing to conduct the final launch polls for a 5:32 p.m. liftoff of the LRO and LCROSS missions on an Atlas V rocket.

Range is "Go"
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:17:43 PM EDT

The weather is cleared and Air Force has declared the Eastern Range is "go" for launch.

Spacecraft are on Internal Power
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:15:30 PM EDT

Both the LRO and LCROSS spacecraft are running on their own power. Once in space, they will use solar panels to convert sunlight into electricity.

Clearing Weather Forecast
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 05:11:43 PM EDT

The weather is now expected to clear in 10 minutes, leaving the Atlas V launch team with good conditions for launch.

Launch Team Draws Up Weather Strategy
Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:08:36 PM EDT

The Launch Services Program and United Launch Alliance teams are considering the best course of action for dealing with weather conditions that currently violate launch rules. The countdown clock could still be restarted from its T-4 minute hold and run down to T-60 seconds even if the weather is "no go." The launch opportunity at 5:32 is instantaneous, so if they can't make that, they will have to reset for tomorrow.

Launch Time Resets for 5:32 p.m.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 04:59:11 PM EDT

The Atlas V launch team is aiming for the 5:32 p.m. opportunity to give the current weather conditions a chance to move away.

Countdown in Planned Hold
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 04:52:01 PM EDT

The countdown for the launch of an Atlas V rocket with two lunar probes onboard has entered its last planned hold. The clocks have paused at the T-4 minute point and are to restart in 20 minutes. Weather remains the only concern for the launch. Launch time is 5:12p.m. with two more chances at 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m.

Launch Team Considering Options
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 04:41:05 PM EDT

Vernon Thorp with the United Launch Alliance told NASA TV the launch team will decide during the built-in hold in 10 minutes whether to push ahead to the first launch opportunity today or try instead for one of the later chances. The concern is a nearby storm system and the range is currently "no-go" for lightning and anvil clouds.

The Prospect of Lunar Ice
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 04:34:39 PM EDT

One of the reasons the LCROSS mission was selected for this flight was the tantalizing results from the Lunar Prospector spacecraft that was launched in 1998. That satellite found signs of water or hydrogen in the areas near the moon's poles. That was enough to raise curiosity. Both LRO and LCROSS were loaded with instruments that will search for water during their missions. For moon-bound astronauts, the lunar water could be used for fuel and air.

Atlas and Centaur Fueled
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 04:17:55 PM EDT

The fuel and oxygen tanks of the Atlas and its Centaur upper stage are at flight levels now and the launch pad systems are pumping in small amounts of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen to replace the amounts that boil off. As for the weather, forecasters continue to track the storm cell near the Atlas launch complex. Launch preparations are continuing toward the first launch opportunity at 5:12 p.m.

Launch Weather Conditions "No-Go" Now
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 04:09:31 PM EDT

With storms over NASA's Kennedy Space Center moving south, the launch weather is "no-go" because of lightning and anvil clouds. The countdown is continuing, however, since the storms may pass before the launch opportunities arrive. The first chance is at 5:12 p.m. Other opportunities are 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m.

Centaur Liquid Hydrogen Tanking Begins
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 04:00:33 PM EDT

Centaur liquid hydrogen chilldown is finished and the propellant is beginning to flow into the rocket's upper stage. By keeping the hydrogen and oxygen in a liquid slush form, engineers can store more of the fuel onboard the rocket than if they kept it as a gas. That means the rocket engines can burn longer.

Weather Concern Continues
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 03:45:13 PM EDT

Meteorologists are studying the approach of a storm system now in the Daytona area in case it gets close enough to Launch Complex 41 to violate launch conditions. Even if it does, today's launch opportunities could give the launch team enough time to send the Atlas V on its way after the storm passes. The launch times for today are 5:12 p.m., 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m. Meanwhile, engineers are getting ready to load liquid hydrogen into the Centaur upper stage. Frost is forming on the outside of the Atlas first stage as the liquid oxygen is pumped inside, giving the copper-colored first stage a white look.

Centaur Oxygen Tank Filled
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 03:39:07 PM EDT

The Centaur's liquid oxygen tank is at flight level. The launch team will start the Centaur liquid hydrogen tanking operations in a few minutes. Since liquid hydrogen also is a cryogenic propellant, those activities start with chilldown of the appropriate transfer lines.

Even after the tanks are filled, the propellants will continue to be slowly pumped in to replace the propellant that evaporates during the count, a process known as "topping off." Like the space shuttle, the Atlas launch pad is equipped with lines that funnel evaporating propellants away from the rocket until liftoff.

Storm Expected in Area
Thu,18 Jun 2009, 03:30:28 PM EDT

Launch weather officers expect a nearby thunderstorm to enter the area around Launch Complex 41 shortly and last about an hour. The poor weather would potentially violate launch conditions. However, the tanking operations continue on schedule right now.

Atlas Liquid Oxygen Tanking Begins
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 03:30:22 PM EDT

Liquid oxygen is flowing into the Atlas V booster. The RP-1 fuel the Atlas V engine burns has already been loaded into the rocket's first stage. The engine mixes the refined kerosene and oxygen to power the rocket with about 860,000 pounds of thrust. The powerful first stage will fire for more than four minutes before it drops away and the Centaur takes over.

LCROSS, Centaur Will Join List of Lunar Impactors
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 03:19:29 PM EDT

Although the LCROSS mission is unusual because it calls for the spacecraft and rocket stage to crash into the surface on purpose, the mission is not the first with that goal. NASA's Ranger 7 spacecraft plunged to the lunar surface in 1964, sending back the first close-up television images of the moon as it closed in. Nor is Centaur the first rocket stage to be used in a scientific impact. Scientists on Earth measured the "moonquakes" that resulted from the impacts of the Saturn V third stages into the moon during the Apollo missions.The Soviet Union also launched missions that impacted the moon. The first was the Luna 2 flight in 1959.

Liquid Oxygen Flowing into Centaur
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 03:12:14 PM EDT

Tanking preparations are complete and the team is monitoring the flow of liquid oxygen into the Centaur upper stage. The oxygen that is not used by the engine during launch will be vented into space before the Centaur collides with the moon. That also goes for the hydrogen fuel the Centaur uses.

The launch team is not working any technical issues now and the weather forecast remains 60 percent favorable for liftoff.

Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 18:59:37 GMT
The launch team is taking steps to prepare the Centaur liquid oxygen storage tank, Atlas liquid oxygen vault and mobile launcher platform supporting the Atlas for the extremely cold propellants that will begin flowing shortly
Each spacecraft will evaluate the lunar surface in unique ways. The LRO will go into orbit just 31 miles above the lunar surface. Using seven instruments, it will take high-resolution photos of the moon along with detailed readings of temperatures, radiation and other factors NASA needs to know when deciding where to send astronauts on future missions.

The LCROSS mission will search for water by guiding the empty Centaur upper stage into a permanently shadowed crater near the moon's south pole. The LCROSS will fly through the plume so its instruments can analyze the dust and elements before it collides with the moon itself.

Centaur Transfer Line Chilldown Under Way
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 02:59:37 PM EDT

The transfer lines that deliver liquid oxygen to the 41.5-foot-long Centaur upper stage are being chilled in advance of tanking. This thermal conditioning is called "chilldown" and aims to reduce stress on the hardware due to an extreme change in temperature. Liquid oxygen is -297 degrees. The liquid hydrogen that will fuel the Centaur is even colder: -423 degrees.

Countdown Resumes
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 02:52:08 PM EDT

The countdown has resumed and clocks are ticking back from the T-120 minute mark. There's only one more scheduled hold in today's countdown, and that one comes much closer to launch time, at T-4 minutes.

The launch team is taking steps to prepare the Centaur liquid oxygen storage tank, Atlas liquid oxygen vault and mobile launcher platform supporting the Atlas for the extremely cold propellants that will begin flowing shortly.

Launch Officials Give "Go" for Cryogenic Tanking
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 02:49:08 PM EDT

Launch Conductor Ed Christiansen, NASA Launch Manager Chuck Dovale and NASA Advisory Manager Joe Lackovich just polled their respective teams and gave the go-ahead to begin loading super-cold, or "cryogenic," liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the vehicle.







From the Mission Director's Center
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 02:39:57 PM EDT

Today's edition of the NASA Launch Blog is originating from the Mission Director's Center inside Hangar AE at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. We are a couple miles from Launch Complex 41 where the Atlas V stands ready to send the LRO and LCROSS spacecraft to the moon. The Air Force station is adjacent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Florida's Atlantic coast. NASA's Launch Services Program uses the base to launch uncrewed missions. In fact, America's first astronauts launched from complexes on the Air Force station in the 1960s. The Saturn V and space shuttle missions have all launched from Kennedy, though.

Atlas V Propulsion
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 02:23:28 PM EDT

The countdown has entered a planned hold at the T-120 minute point. The hold is to continue for 30 minutes. Looking at the bottom of the Atlas V rocket, you'd think it uses two engines. In fact, the Atlas V first stage is powered by a single engine called the RD-180. The single engine feeds propellant into two thrust chambers where the chemicals are mixed and ignited. The flame and smoke emerges from two nozzles at the bottom of the rocket to shoot it into space. The Atlas V uses highly refined kerosene and cryogenic liquid oxygen for its propellants. The Centaur upper stage uses a single engine for this mission.

Two Missions on One Rocket
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 02:12:16 PM EDT

The Atlas V rocket standing on Launch Complex 41 here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., will launch both the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite missions. A single-engine Centaur is the second or upper stage of the rocket. Unlike most missions, the Centaur will remain with the LCROSS spacecraft after launch to become part of the mission.

Each spacecraft will evaluate the lunar surface in unique ways. The LRO will go into orbit just 31 miles above the lunar surface. Using seven instruments, it will take high-resolution photos of the moon along with detailed readings of temperatures, radiation and other factors NASA needs to know when deciding where to send astronauts on future missions.

The LCROSS mission will search for water by guiding the empty Centaur upper stage into a permanently shadowed crater near the moon's south pole. The LCROSS will fly through the plume so its instruments can analyze the dust and elements before it collides with the moon itself.

Atlas V, Two Lunar Spacecraft Poised for Launch
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 02:03:24 PM EDT

NASA is ready to return to the moon for the first time in 10 years and we are at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to bring you all the developments as the countdown proceeds to today's launch. The space agency is launching two lunar probes on an Atlas V rocket, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite. The launch team has three opportunities today for liftoff. The first is 5:12 p.m., then 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m. There are no significant technical issues at this moment, but weather may become a concern. The forecast calls for a 60 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time.

Join Us For Launch Coverage at 2 p.m.
Thu, 18 Jun 2009, 01:22:52 PM EDT

NASA's Launch Blog will begin coverage of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite missions at 2 p.m. The spacecraft will launch together aboard an Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. There are three launch opportunities today, starting at 5:12 p.m. NASA's Launch Services Program team is aiming for the first chance. Today's other opportunities are at 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m.

Follow the Launch Blog
Tue, 09 Jun 2009, 10:47:51 AM EDT

Join us on launch day for the countdown to liftoff of the Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite.