Palo Alto, Calif.-based Space Systems/Loral announced March 14 it completed on-time delivery of a satellite propulsion system for NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission.
The propulsion system, a variant of the systems Space Systems/Loral uses on the geostationary satellites it builds, was delivered March 8 to NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, Calif., following completion of the final delivery reviews and sign offs.
LADEE is slated to launch in November 2013 from Wallops Flight Facility, Va., aboard an Orbital Sciences Corp. Minotaur 5 rocket.
NASA expects to spend roughly $260 million on the six-month mission, a figure that includes launch and $175 million in spacecraft development costs.
