Spaceflight

NASA has requested propulsion proposals for its $80 million Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer spacecraft scheduled for a 2010-11 launch.

The 132kg (290lb) Octagon-shaped spacecraft is to operate at 50km (31 miles) altitude for up to 30 weeks and use a 20kg, 100W powered payload to examine the tenuous lunar atmosphere and its possible dust composition for three months.

NASA's small spacecraft office wants the craft to use a common bus and a 45kg wet-mass 560lb-thrust (2.5kN) minimum orbit and attitude control thruster system for main propulsion. There are orbiter and lander reference designs for the spacecraft.