LCROSS – A New Approach for NASA Missions
- Paper number
IAC-09.B4.8.1
- Author
Mr. Daniel Andrews, NASA - Ames Research Center, United States
- Year
2009
- Abstract
The mission of the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) is to search for water on Earth’s moon. The challenge for the LCROSS Project Team at NASA Ames Research Center was to accomplish this mission under a series of very tight constraints: \begin{itemize}\item \end{itemize}Complete spacecraft turn-around from start to finish in 30-months. \begin{itemize}\item \end{itemize}Delivering the entire project for less than $80 M. In February 2009, the Ames Project Team shipped LCROSS to Kennedy Space Center for launch with the Lunar Reconnaissance Observatory (LRO) on time and on budget, demonstrating that the Agency Class D designation for efficient, affordable NASA science missions is achievable. Among the factors contributing to the groundbreaking success of the project was the understanding that LCROSS was not about maximum performance, but about cost containment. To achieve mission goals against this backdrop, Ames Project Management used an innovative approach that consisted of building a small Project Team who adopted proven, low-risk approaches for spacecraft and payload design. Whenever possible, this team used commercially available, off-the-shelf hardware and software, thereby avoiding costly development time normally associated with spaceflight missions. The LCROSS mission consists of two elements: 1) a Shepherding Spacecraft (S-S/C) containing scientific instruments and on-board cameras and 2) a bus-sized Centaur upper stage rocket used as an impactor. After LRO is inserted into trans-lunar injection the LCROSS missions establishes a polar Earth orbit establishing a ballistic trajectory into one of the permanently shaded polar craters on the Moon – areas which previous missions have indicated could have trapped water ice. On final decent, the Project Team at Ames separates the Centaur from the S-S/C allowing it to impact the lunar surface, kicking-up a cloud of debris. The S-S/C instrumentation observes the plume while descending through it, analyzing its contents and sending back data to Ames before it, too, crashes into the lunar surface. With the success of LCROSS and other anticipated Class D missions, NASA has a new way to cost-effectively execute special missions enabling science and understanding in advance of return humans to the moon.- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
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