NASA this morning confirmed plans to launch two lunar satellites from Cape Canaveral next Wednesday.
A flight readiness review held at Kennedy Space Center confirmed 3:51 p.m. as the first of three launch opportunities for a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, followed by 4:01 p.m. and 4:11 p.m.
"There were no real issues or concerns that came out of it," said KSC spokesman George Diller. "It really looks like we're ready for this."
The mission's primary payload is the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, a spacecraft whose first year in lunar orbit will be spent creating high-resolution maps of the moon's topography and composition.
The goal is to identify the best places for astronauts to return to the moon, including potential sites for landings and outposts that are planned as early as 2020.
After the first year of collecting data for exploration purposes, LRO is expected to continue orbiting the moon for another two years as a science mission.
The rocket's secondary payload is the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS.
The spacecraft will shepherd the rocket's Centaur upper stage around Earth orbit for about four months. The stage will then separate and hurtle toward an impact with a permanently shadowed crater on the moon's south pole, planned in October.
The spacecraft will follow four minutes behind the Centaur, flying through the plume kicked up from the crater to look for evidence of water ice.
If it exists, water ice would be an important resource that could help astronauts survive on the moon and reduce the amount of expensive supplies that would need to be shipped from Earth.
While the spacecraft and launch vehicle systems appear to be in good condition, launch managers will be closely watching the weather next week for afternoon thunderstorms that could develop.
If the launch scrubs on Wednesday, Thursday's opportunities would be at 5:12 p.m., 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m.
Each minute has a one-second window based on the trajectories needed for the Centaur and LCROSS satellite to hit their marks on the moon. The exact impact location will be decided about 30 days before the collision.
Spacecraft closeouts are in progress today at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 41.
A countdown dress rehearsal is planned Thursday, starting at 9 a.m.
A launch readiness review on Monday will review any final issues before the planned rollout of the Atlas V from a vertical processing hangar to the launch pad at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
A pre-launch press conference is planned at 1 p.m. Monday, followed by a mission science briefing at the same time Tuesday.
We'll provide live coverage of the briefings and launch. Click on the NASA TV image on the right side of the page to launch a viewer, and refresh this page for updates.
Image note: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Spacecraft have been loaded atop an Atlas V rocket for launch to the moon. Click the image twice to fully enlarge it. Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
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