We are heading back to the moon Tonight: LADEE launch at 11:27p.m. EDT from Wallops Island, VA

Originally posted by Soylent Green Is People
reply to post by Olivine

 

Olivine --

Your thread title says the launch time is 11:57 PM, but the link you provided says the launch window opens at 11:27 PM (with the window lasting 4 minutes).

Why is the launch window such a short time - is it just the trajectory to reach orbit around the moon?

A stunning photo from Ben Cooper:

LADEE TO THE MOON! As seen from the Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center, about 200 miles north of the launch pad, the first Orbital Sciences Minotaur V rocket sends NASA's LADEE spacecraft on its way to the moon! The Empire State Building is lit up green and blue in honor of the US Open of tennis, being played in Flushing, Queens this week.

www.launchphotography.com...
www.space.com...

200 miles (over 320 km) is a huge distance, practically the width of Great Britain. So if LADEE were launched in Wales, this kind of photo could have been taken from London, with a suitable landmark in the frame.

So, is this launch just to keep American interests in the moon - its rare minerals and real estate will be Chinese by the 2020.

I am for one pumped! It will reach the moon Oct, 6. Weird that a normal apollo would reach it in 3 days, this will take a whole month.

SullivanBlack
I am for one pumped! It will reach the moon Oct, 6. Weird that a normal apollo would reach it in 3 days, this will take a whole month.

Considering this is unmanned, they could take advantage of more fuel-efficient trajectories that require smaller rockets and could use the Earth's and the Moon's gravity to their advantage...

...It may take longer, but it is much cheaper. With a manned mission, they would not have the luxury of taking the time to use these fuel-efficient (yet time consuming) trajectories.

Well, I wanted to give an update on the LADEE mission, but of course, the NASA website is currently unavailable.

According to this 7 October NBC News report, LADEE officially entered orbit around the moon on the 6th. It was supposed to complete a 2nd burn on the 9th, and a final orbit insertion manuever today, to lower down to 250 kms above the moon.

Then begin the experiments and data collection. At least this mission was spared from the ignorant government shutdown because it was in a critical phase.