Many folks would like to see us back on the Moon and developing its resources.

Monday, October 07, 2013

LADEE Has Entered Lunar Orbit - so it is said

My SpaceRef Daily News letter says LADEE has entered lunar orbit.

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  • Posted by Keith Cowing - Source: SpaceRef
  • Posted October 6, 2013 10:31 AM

According to someone at NASA: "Early this morning (October 6), we fired LADEE's main engine in a braking maneuver known as the Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) burn."
"This slowed the spacecraft's velocity enough for it to be captured by the Moon's gravity. This critical burn went flawlessly and LADEE is now in lunar orbit! Two more main engine burns, on October 9 and 12 will adjust LADEE's trajectory, settling it into its commissioning orbit."
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Wikepedia has a good run down on LADEE.

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Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer
The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is a NASA lunar exploration mission led by Ames Research Centerin collaboration with Goddard Space Flight Center. It was launched on a Minotaur V from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on September 7, 2013, at 03:27 UTC.[4] During its nominal 100-day scientific mission, LADEE will orbit around the Moon's equator, and use instruments aboard the spacecraft to study the lunar exosphere and dust in the Moon's vicinity. Instruments include a dust detector, a neutral mass spectrometer, and an ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, as well as a technology demonstration consisting of a lasercommunications terminal.[5] (see Free-space optical communication "lasercom")
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SFLIGHT101 has a very pictorial account on the LADEE mission if you have not seen.

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We will have to wait until NASA gets back to work to follow what is happening from NASA Ames and Goddard Spceflight Center.

Others are talking though.  Thanks.

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NASA's LADEE Spacecraft Project Successful
Submitted by Bruce Totolos on Mon, 10/07/2013 - 06:36-------------------------------------------


Thanks for looking up with me.  
- LRK -
 
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -

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