Media Accreditation Open At NASA’s Wallops For NASA’s New Moon Mission Launch
NASA
Media accreditation now is open for the launch of NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission in September from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington funds the LADEE mission, a cooperative effort led by NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Ames is responsible for managing the mission, building the spacecraft and performing mission operations. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., is responsible for managing the science instruments and technology demonstration payload, the science operations center and overall mission support. Wallops will be responsible for launch vehicle integration, launch services, and launch range operations. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages LADEE within the Lunar Quest Program Office.
Media should send their accreditation request to Keith Koehler by email at [email protected]. For questions about accreditation or additional information, contact Koehler by phone at 757-824-1579.
NASA’s LADEE is scheduled to launch at 11:27 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 6. Backup launch days are Sept. 7-10. LADEE is a robotic mission that will orbit the moon to gather detailed information about the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere and determine whether dust is being lofted into the lunar sky.
A thorough understanding of these characteristics of our nearest celestial neighbor will help researchers understand other bodies in the solar system, such as Mercury, outer planet moons and larger asteroids.
LADEE will launch from the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s (MARS) Pad 0B on a U.S. Air Force Minotaur V rocket, an excess ballistic missile converted in to a space launch vehicle and operated by Orbital. This will be the first flight of the Minotaur V and the first launch beyond Earth orbit from Wallops.
Media without U.S. citizenship must apply by Friday, Aug. 16, for credentials to cover the prelaunch and launch activities. The early accreditation is needed to meet NASA’s deadline to process international media credentials. For media who are U.S. citizens, the application deadline is Monday, Aug. 26.
For information about NASA’s LADEE mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ladee
For more information about Ames, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ames
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