Recent content by Likeshadow

LCROSS Ameture Astronomy Here's a link to some information on viewing the impact and pictures ameture astronomers have begun posting, etc http://apps.nasa.gov/lcross/

Final Targetting Analysis The picture contains our final assessment of the projected Centaur impact point (small red circle within Green region) and the SSC (LCROSS Shephard Spacecraft) (large red circle targeted at the Blue region). We are well within our targetting reuirement (the Green...

Hubble will be using an attitude slewing motion tor track the Lunar target. I'm not privy to the full details, but I have heard this will give them in the neghborhood of 7 minutes of imaging time, and they plan to do the slewing motion twice per orbital view period to give them two imaging...

LCROSS Update LCROSS is healthy and on Target. We have waived final Trajectory correction maneuver and are instead going to use the separation delta-v to do final targetting cleanup. We predict a 3sigma accuracy in the neighborhood of 700 Meters, error mostly being due to OD knowledge...

LCROSS is getting ready to perform what we call an Earthlook operation. We'll be slewing the spacecraft to point the payload instruments at Earth (and hopefully detect water...lol). We then swing the spacecraft in a cross pattern we call limb slews (4deg pitch, -8degpitch, 4deg pitch, 4deg...

FYI, LCROSS is doing great. We hit our lunar periselene swingby target within about 1.5km which is excellent. The vehicle has checked out very well. Had some fun with the star tracker early on. Wen we started it up the first time, it failed to lock on stars which is always disconcerting -...

Yes, most of the time we are ecliptic-normal or anti-normal. Our two omni antennas give us 4pi Steradian comm coverage, but where the two antennas overlap there is some RF interferometry going on. So when the earth angle reaches 90deg to the primary omni, we do a 180 pitch flip which reverses...

in-flight scenarios The Lunar flyby scenario is actually quite complicated. About 1 hour post perisilene we manuever the +X to point and dwell on three sperate lunar surface targets for 5 minutes each (well measured surface areas that we use to calibrate the instruments). We then slew the...

To answer the reference plane question, it is at the separation plane between LCROSS and the Centaur (X= 0). The separation location is between the D1666 Centaur adapter ring and the LCROSS ESPA Ring Adapter. From the top of the Centaur, you have a C22 adapter ring bolted to the D1666 adapter...

Yes, the Centaur Transverse spin will be at 1 deg/sec. During spin with LO2 and LH2 valves open, they will also be venting helium pressurant. Valves will stay open until pressurant bleeds down to about 400psia, at which point the pneumatic LO2 and LH2 valves (actually caled the OIV and FIV...

LCROSS Details Thanks, Happy to be here. Responses to your questions inline in bold: Thanks for taking the time to drop by and say hello, and also for the kind offer of information! Yes please! All info you can provide will be gratefully received. Even if it's not immediately relevant to...

I just discovered this forum discussing LCROSS. I can provide technical information if you are still interested, thruster coordinates, force levels, ISP curves, ACS modes, firing sequences, manuever planning, and just about anything about the spacecraft technically. I can also help with the 3d...