LRO-LCROSS - Orbit Insertion / Flyby Coverage Options

[Greg Hullender]

Who else is pretending they're approaching the Moon in an Apollo?

That would be manned spaceflight, which is not allowed. I'm pretending I'm a robot approaching the Moon. :-)

--Greg

[djellison]

Bingo - the whole thing at 100x speed. Kind of cool.

Attached File(s)

 lcross_flyby.mov ( 710.41K ) Number of downloads: 410

 

[SpaceListener]

Managed to quickly create a LCROSS realtime simulation:
http://www.dmuller.net/realtime/realtime.php?mission=lcross

I have not yet been able to verify the trajectory data but the output seems reasonable

I have just visited the Space Realtime Simulation.

My suggestion are to add other milestones:

• The second loop around the Moon orbit in 38 days and
• Later, comes the final site selection will be made 30 days prior to impact.
• The time of the separation (around 9:40 hours before of impact -Still not sure-) of Centaur and Shepherding Spacecraft.
• The impact of Shepherding LCROSS (October 9, 2009 at 11:30 UT (7:30 a.m. EDT, 4:30 a.m. PDT), +/- 30 minutes).
• The impact of upper stage of Centaur around 4 minutes later than LCROSS spacecraft.

[dmuller]

Thanks SpaceListener for the suggestions; I appreciate such input because I do miss obvious stuff (occasionally) :-) I will work them in when time permits. This mission somehow slipped under my radar, for one it's not quite exactly interplanetary, and I only recently and by accident found the type of trajectory data which I need for my simulations to work.

As for the final impact timeline, if memory serves me right, it is the Centaur that will hit first, creating a plume through which LCROSS will fly through. LCROSS follows 10 minutes behind the Centaur, allowing for 4 minutes of measurements in the plume ... or something like that.

Will work on this mission shortly.

[charborob]

Don't know if this is the proper place to ask. Couldn't we have a dedicated LRO subforum? Threads on this mission are starting to multiply. I like things neat and tidy.

[mars loon]

Two fantastic lunar events this morning within a few hours time. And all in real time

It truly reminded me of the excitment of the Apollo days and what we can really accomplish given the resources

kind of like looking outside the windows of the Apollo Command and Lunar modules. most reminisecent of Apollo 8 command module

ken

[stewjack]

A copy of the original (5 AM EDT) NASA TV coverage. It's obviously copied from the original stream, and the resolution isn't all the great.
LRO Spacecraft Enters Lunar Orbit 138 MB ( 37 min long )

Download page
http://www.space-multimedia.nl.eu.org/inde...739&Itemid=

EDIT: After viewing the entire video file I doubt that many UMSF people would find much interest in this video. All that really happens is that LRO completes its orbit insertion burn.


Jack

[mars loon]

I been in touch with NASA PAO and a replay may be available on NASA TV later today. also they very likely will post to download from LCROSS website later today also

in the meantime some pics now here:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LCROSS/l...ngby/index.html

NASA TV : LRO replay is set for 8 PM EDT tonight

ken

[belleraphon1]

Bingo - the whole thing at 100x speed. Kind of cool.

Thanks Doug...

live video from the Moon... complete with camera jitter.

Cool indeed...

Craig

[ollopa]

Can anyone explain the geometry to me? I was expecting a fly-by, but the image barely changes over 90 minutes.

This YouTube visualisation 5 days ago is not official AFAIK, but is more what I expected:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfwDFdunJCQ


I'm sure 'twill be all right on the day - but I'm old enough to remember Giotto, when we expected pics on the night but waited weeks for the processing.

[dmuller]

Can anyone explain the geometry to me? I was expecting a fly-by, but the image barely changes over 90 minutes.

All the LCROSS action was after closest approach ... closest approach to the Moon was around the time of the LRO orbit insertion. The camera feed started some 2 to 3 hours after c/a. So what we've seen is a departing movie from the Moon.

I'm sure 'twill be all right on the day - but I'm old enough to remember Giotto, when we expected pics on the night but waited weeks for the processing.

Me too. Still remember when suddenly no pics came back anymore ...

[Stu]

I'm sure 'twill be all right on the day - but I'm old enough to remember Giotto, when we expected pics on the night but waited weeks for the processing.

GIOTTO... what a nightmare... insisted my family turn over to BBC to watch the "exciting live coverage" with Patrick Moore and a panel of studio "experts"... told them all how thrilling it would be, how we'd finally get to see Halley's Comet... then the pictures started coming in and no-one had a ****** clue what they showed, or if we'd passed closest approach, or anything. Just a studio full of blank, bewildered faces. My family were less than impressed! Eventually the pics were great of course, but at the time it was a bit cringey.

[John Moore]

Id's on [some] of the features we're looking at in the original image below.



John
PS...first posting of an image, so forgive

[Stu]

Thanks for posting that labelled image John, I spent a totally fruitless half hour last night trying to ID features!

[John Moore]

Thanks for posting that labelled image John, I spent a totally fruitless half hour last night trying to ID features!

Yeah..know what you mean re: identifying a feature -- I got lost at some point too :-)

I initially thought that large-ish-looking Mare on the right side was Crisium but that crater (Neper) just to its North suggested doubts, however, it turned out to be Smithii in the end -- the rest afterwards then fell into place.

John