Lunar Exploration Missions Roll to Pad for Thursday Launch

June 17, 2009

Grey Hautaluoma/Ashley Edwards
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0668/1756
,

Nancy Neal Jones
Goddard Spaceflight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-0039


Jonas Dino
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-5612


RELEASE: 09-140

LUNAR EXPLORATION MISSIONS ROLL TO PAD FOR THURSDAY LAUNCH

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and the
Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, rolled
aboard their Atlas V rocket to the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station in Florida Wednesday morning in preparation for launch
on Thursday. The spacecraft left its processing facility at 10:02 EDT
and arrived at the pad about 35 minutes later.

The spacecraft are scheduled to lift off together on Thursday, June
18, with three attempts possible at 5:12 p.m., 5:22 p.m. and 5:32
p.m. If launch slips to Friday, June 19, the launch opportunities
would be 6:41 p.m., 6:51 p.m. and 7:01 p.m.

LRO is scheduled for a one-year exploration mission at a polar orbit
of about 31 miles, or 50 kilometers, the closest any spacecraft has
orbited the moon. Its primary objective is to conduct investigations
to prepare for future explorations of the moon. LCROSS will search
for water ice on the moon by sending the spent upper-stage Centaur
rocket to impact part of a polar crater in permanent shadows. LCROSS
will fly into the plume of dust left by the impact and measure the
properties before also colliding with the lunar surface.

NASA TV coverage of the launch will begin at 2 p.m. June 18. For
information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule
information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the LRO and LCROSS missions, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/lro

http://www.nasa.gov/lcross

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