Engineers from NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., have successfully completed launch preparation activities for NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) observatory, which has been encapsulated into the nose-cone of the Minotaur V rocket at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

LADEE now is ready to launch when the window opens on Sept. 6, 2013.