LADEE Update: 30 min to LOI
1.5 hrs to LOI
5.5 Hrs to LOI
LADEE Lunar Orbit Insertion 1 (LOI-1)
Watch the Lunar Orbit Period and Lunar Apoapsis Altitude come down once the Lunar Eccentricity goes below 1.0 (from Hyperbolic to Elliptical).
LADEE Capture Video from Earth and Moon’s perspective
LADEE Now in the Moon’s Sphere
The Moon is now under control. Based on LADEE’s altitude (below 66,000 km) the Moon is now the primary gravitational body acting on the spacecraft. In other words, the Moon’s gravity is now stronger than the Earth’s.
This picture really shows the change the Moon is imposing on the orbit, which until now had been a large elliptical orbit around the Earth:
Note that the white arc LADEE is currently on turns red when LADEE gets below 50,000 km. After that, you can see another short, white arc on the trajectory which is Lunar Orbit Insertion 1, or LOI-1.
Here’s LADEE’s view of the Earth:
And finally, the approach trajectory:
You can see the LOI-1 arc in this view as well.
About 15 hrs to LOI-1 now….
