LITTLETON, Colo. — The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket efficiently launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Wednesday night. On board is the Lunar Trailblazer orbiter, which was constructed by Lockheed Martin on its Waterton campus in Littleton, Colorado.
Trailblazer’s mission is to supply high-resolution mapping of water on the lunar floor. The existence of water on the Moon is a latest discovery, and Trailblazer is designed to seek out its actual location and assist perceive its type.
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin stated future manned missions to the Moon can then use that water to create breathable oxygen and/or gas.
It’s anticipated to take Trailblazer 4 to seven months to get into orbit, and it ought to begin sending again knowledge quickly after.
Trailblazer weighs about 440 kilos and is 11 ½ toes large with its photo voltaic panels absolutely deployed. Scientists describe it as trying just like a washer. It took 4 years to construct on the Waterton campus and is a part of a brand new technology of lower-cost, smaller spacecraft anticipated for use in future missions to Mars.
Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin wouldn’t present the precise value of the orbiter however the complete value of the mission that started Wednesday night is $89 million.
Lockheed Martin’s Littleton operation has a storied historical past in area exploration. On July 20, 1976, Viking 1, which was in-built Littleton, grew to become the primary spacecraft to land on Mars.
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