Ecliptic’s RocketCam “Shoots the Moon” in LCROSS Mission
by Kathleen Burton

NRP tenant Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation is playing a crucial role in the LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and
Sensing Satellite) mission to search for the signature of water, a lunar resource that can be used for future human exploration,
at the Moon’s rugged South Pole.

Ecliptic’s signature product, RocketCam™, transmitted video from three camera perspectives of the picture-perfect launch from Cape Canaveral aboard an ATLAS V rocket on June 18. RocketCam™, a family of onboard imaging systems, is designed to withstand the extreme environment of space launches and missions.

Almost five days after launch, LCROSS performed a Moon flyby to insert LCROSS into its Lunar Gravity Assist Lunar
Return Orbit (LGALRO). During this maneuver, the LCROSS science payload was activated to provide for calibration data
and determine that instruments were correctly pointed. As part of the flyby, lunar surface images, a stunning visual event,
was also captured by a RocketCam video camera, one of LCROSS’ nine payload sensors.

Besides RocketCam, an Ecliptic-supplied avionics unit, called the Data Handling Unit (the DHU), controls all nine LCROSS
visible, infrared and flash imaging sensors, which will relay mission-critical information about the composition of the lunar sub-surface excavated by the Centaur Stage Rocket impact event back to Earth.