GREENBELT, Md., July 31 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it has completed the initial environmental testing of its lunar reconnaissance orbiter.
Officials said the tests at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. were designed to ensure the spacecraft is prepared to map the lunar surface in preparation for human missions to the moon, which are planned to occur by 2020.
"The first two tests for the orbiter were the spin test and vibration test," NASA said in a statement. "The spin test determines the spacecraft's center of gravity and measures characteristics of its rotation. During vibration testing, engineers checked the structural integrity of the lunar probe aboard a large, shaking table that simulated the rigorous ride the orbiter will encounter during liftoff aboard an Atlas rocket."
The spacecraft also faces approximately four days of acoustics testing during which it will be placed near multistory, wall-sized speakers that simulate the noise-induced vibrations of launch. Other tests will include thermal vacuum testing that duplicates the extreme hot, cold and airless conditions of space.
The LRO is to be launched during a 2009 window that opens Feb. 27 and continues through the end of March.
