NASA launches lunar satellites

The two satellites were lifted into space aboard an Atlas V rocket from a Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch pad after a short delay caused by a thunderstorm.

The spacecraft had been scheduled to lift off together at 5:12 p.m., but the storm forced a hold in the countdown. The thunderstorm cleared the area, allowing the liftoff to occur at the last launch opportunity of the day at 5:32 p.m. EDT.

The orbiter will conduct a one-year exploration mission at a polar orbit of about 31 miles, the closest any spacecraft has orbited the moon. Its primary objective is to gather information in preparation for explorations of the moon, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

The sensing satellite will search for water ice on the moon by sending the spent upper-stage Centaur rocket to impact part of a polar crater. Then the satellite will fly into the dust plume created by the impact and measure its properties before also colliding with the lunar surface.

Copyright 2009 by United Press International.