Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Update: Pre-pumpdown setup and proc checks continuing

This blog follows the progress of the LRO mission through Integration and Testing at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and launch site processing at KSC\Astrotech. Its purpose is to enable communication to the entire LRO Team about the status of ongoing activities.

LRO was launched June 18th, 2009 at 5:32pm EDT from KSC. This BLOG will follow the progress of the mission as LRO travels to the Moon and establishes orbit around it.

This BLOG will be periodically updated during LRO's early mission but as the nominal mission unfolds the official NASA LRO website and the LRO Science Instrument's own websites will evolve into a more interesting sources of LRO science results as postings appear there first and LRO engineering and operations (source of this site) will become increasingly routine.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Pre-pumpdown setup and proc checks continuing

TVac test preparations inside the SES chamber are going well. Today the thermal team finished the blanketing, and facilities engineers ran the LN2 plumbing and completed leak check. Fri 10/24 they hope to complete heater and thermocouple checkout and be ready for a Saturday evening pumpdown.

Outside the the chamber, powered testing and proc checkouts consisted of:

*Hot Transient Simulation Proc Dry Run

*LROC WAC Firmware update

*Cold Start Proc Dry Run

*High voltage "emergency off" Proc Dry Run

*Lunar Eclipse Simulation Proc Dry Run