Roll Out Today at 10am

Word on the street is that we are going to roll out this morning. We will perform a power on at 1pm after rollout complete.

So much for the 12mid deadline....

LRO\LCROSS Launch Day Update

LRO Team,

Late this afternoon it was established that the only scenario in which 6/18 would be a LRO\LCROSS available launch day was one in which the Shuttle scrubbed their launch at about L-4hr or earlier. That translates into an answer about 12:45 am Wednesday morning (just past midnight Tuesday night). We all hope the Shuttle will be successful and I think odds are it will be so it is probable our launch days will be June 19 and June 20. I will update you, and the BLOG, in the wee hours tomorrow night. Plan for June 18,19,20 until informed differently but let's all hope the Shuttle is a successful and we are left with June 19 and 20th.

LRO is go for launch and we have no open issues! Be Ready!

"Endurance is nobler than strength, and patience than beauty."
John Ruskin

Launch Readiness Review (LRR) Completed & COFR Signed

This morning the LRO\LCROSS\AV-20 LRR was successfully completed. There are no open issues with LRO, LCROSS, or Atlas. Go LRO! Go LCROSS! Go Atlas! Go Centaur!

We will learn about 12 noon today whether the Shuttle will attempt to launch on 6/17 and push us to 6/18-20. Watch for updates

L-3 Days, Maybe!

We completed our Mission Dress Rehearsal for launch with Atlas and LCROSS on June 11 and are waiting to roll out to the pad. But the scrub of the Shuttle Launch has complicated things a bit. See my recent email below:

LRO Team,

Here's the outcome of today's events. Please read it carefully as the path forward is a bit convoluted:

• Up until Monday 6/15 about noon: Both Shuttle and LRO/LCROSS are on for 6/17-20. There will be a Monday 6am Shuttle status, and a Monday ~12noon Range configuration call. From there we have two scenarios, one with a additional variation:

1. If Shuttle has no processing issues by this time, then LRO/LCROSS gives up the 17th for a Shuttle attempt on the 17th., we have 18-20th with a lien on the 18th. Up until about Shuttle L-6 hours (midnight Tuesday), LRO/LCROSS has 6/18-20. Should Shuttle continue their count past this point (midnight Tuesday) even if they do not launch, we give up the 18th and have only 6/19-20.

2. If the Shuttle declares at noon Monday they cannot make the 17th LRO\LCROSS gets the 17th only and the Shuttle will plan for the 20th. Inside this path is the possibility the Shuttle would decline the 20th later in the window in which case LRO\LCROSS would recoup some or all of the 17-20 window.

Implications of the situation:

• We must plan for the 17th until at least noon tomorrow.
• If we lose the 17th at noon tomorrow it is gone for good no matter what.
• If we get the 17th tomorrow it is very likely all we have in this block, making a 6/30-7/3 launch more probable.
• If we lose the 17th Atlas roll out will slip at least a day.
• LRR and Press Events do not change

L-9 days!

We had very successful Commissioning TIM at the LROC SOC in Tempe AZ. We reviewed the detailed plans for turn-on and calibration of our instruments. Above is a summary of what we'll be doing during our first days of the mission.

Apollo 17 Astronaut Harrison Schmitt in our MOC!

Today Dr. Harrison Schmitt, the Apollo 17 Astronaut-Scientist, gave an interview to Fox News in preparation for the 40th anniversary of the Apollo lunar landing, from inside the LRO MOC. He also toured the MOC, learned more about LRO, and was asked to sign anything that was not nailed down!

2 weeks to launch!

Shuttle Homecoming.

The shuttle was ferried back the KSC yesterday and flew up the Cocoa Beach shoreline.
Photo courtesy of Mehul Patel.

Data Interleave Test Successfully Completed.

Today we ran a test to verify that we could receive the data interleaved into the booster and the Centaur second stage telemetry stream. LRO gets this data through the vehicle while on the ground until separation.