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Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter - Wikipedia

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit.[6][7] Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to the Moon.[8] Its detailed mapping program is iden...

LRO/LCROSS

Overview

Destination: Lunar Orbit
Mission: Planetary Science

Lunar Orbit Space Launch Complex 41 Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

LRO is the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA. Used to map the moon to identify safe landing sites, locating potential resources, characterizing the radiation environment and demonstrating new technologies. The LCROSS is the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, also for NASA. A low cost satellite in order to confirm the existance of water in the southern lunar crater, Cabeus.

Atlas V 401

Family:
Configuration: 401

An Atlas V with a 4 meter diameter fairing, no boosters and a single centaur upper stage engine.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    58.3 m
  • Diameter
    3.8 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    4.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    590.0 T
  • Thrust
    3827.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Atlas V 401
  • Family
    ―
  • Variant
    401
  • Alias
    ―
  • Full Name
    Atlas V 401
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $115000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    9050.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    4950.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
    ―
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity
    6670.0 kg

United Launch Alliance

United Launch Alliance

(ULA)

CEO: Mark Peller Founded: 2006 Successes: 175 Failures: 0 Pending: 72

Agency Type:

United Launch Alliance (ULA) is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. ULA was formed in December 2006 by combining the teams at these companies which provide spacecraft launch services to the government of the United States. ULA launches from both coasts of the US. They launch their Atlas V vehicle from LC-41 in Cape Canaveral and LC-3E at Vandeberg. Their Delta IV launches from LC-37 at Cape Canaveral and LC-6 at Vandenberg.

INFO WIKI
ESA

Spot the craters

From the ESA Blogs.

NASA

APOD: 2026 October 10 – Lunar Farside

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 October 10… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinatin…

NASA

APOD: 2026 September 23 – A New Lunar Crater: McGetchin

APOD Science APOD APOD: 2026 September 23 – A… Today’s APOD Archive Submissions Index Search Calendar RSS Education About Discuss   APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fasc…

NASASpaceflight

LRO discovers large new lunar crater, finds interesting thermal emission phenomenon

Using NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, a team of scientists has discovered the largest, newly formed… The post LRO discovers large new lunar crater, finds interesting thermal emission phenomenon appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.

NASA

NASA’s Moon Orbiter Spots New, ‘Once-in-Century’ Moon Crater

It started as a routine data-quality check. But as Robert Wagner, a scientist with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), scanned a giant Moon map on his computer screen, an unusually large bright spot circled by a dark halo caught his…

Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Space Launch Complex 41


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
1 day, 6 hours ago
Glonass-K1? (Kosmos 2621?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Payload identity uncertain. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite navigation system. GLONASS is a Rus…


Falcon 9
Success
1 day, 19 hours ago
USSF-432
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield satellite bu…


Ceres-2
Success
1 day, 20 hours ago
4 satellites
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

Share-ride of 4 commercial Earth observation and technology demonstration satellites to SSO, details TBD.


Long March 2C
Success
3 days, 4 hours ago
Yaogan 51-07 to 09
Launch Complex 3 (LC-3/LA-1) - Xichang Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

3 Chinese military “remote sensing” satellite of unknown purposes.


Kinetica 2
Success
5 days, 19 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #17
Launch Area 140 - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

18 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Electron
Success
6 days, 3 hours ago
The Sea God Surveys (iQPS Launch 9)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar Earth observation satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company iQPS.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Starlink Group 15-18
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


GSLV Mk II
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
IRNSS-1L (NVS-03)
Satish Dhawan Space Centre Second Launch Pad - Satish Dhawan Space Centre, India

This is a replacement satellite for the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System. The constellation will provide India with an alternative to GPS …


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Starlink Group 15-16
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 8A
Success
2 weeks ago
SatNet LEO Group 28
Commercial LC-1 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…