Launch Photos! NASA's LADEE Moon Dust Mission Blasts Off (Gallery)

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NASA LADEE Launches Toward the Moon

Credit: NASA/Chris Perry

A Minotaur V rocket carrying NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) lifts off from at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. See more LADEE launch photos on SPACE.com.

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Liftoff! NASA's LADEE Moon Probe Blasts Off

Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) observatory launches aboard the Minotaur V rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility, Friday, Sept. 6, 2013, in Virginia. [Read the Full Story Here]

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Spectacular NYC View of LADEE Launch: Ben Cooper

Credit: LaunchPhotography.com/Ben Cooper

Veteran launch photographer Ben Cooper captured this spectacular photo of NASA's LADEE moon probe soaring across the night sky from Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center, in New York City, about 200 miles north of the launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., on Sept. 6, 2013. A Minotaur V rocket launched the LADEE probe at 11:27 p.m. EDT. [See More Amazing LADEE Launch Photos by Stargazers]

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Amazing NASA LADEE Launch: Chris Bakley

Credit: Chris Bakley

Photographer Chris Bakley captured this stunning image of NASA's LADEE moon probe launch from the beach in Cape May Point, N.J., on Sept. 6, 2013. LADEE launched from Wallops Island, Va., and was visible across a wide swath of the U.S. East Coast. See more amazing LADEE launch photos by SPACE.com readers.

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NASA's LADEE Moon Mission Launches: Sept. 6, 2013

Credit: NASA TV via collectSPACE.com

NASA's LADEE spacecraft launches toward the moon atop a Minotaur V rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., on Sept. 6, 2013. The mission will probe the moon's thin atmosphere and dust environment. [Read the Full Story Here]

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LADEE Launch Viewed from Jersey City, N.J.

Credit: Quentin Le Fevre

Quentin Le Fevre was in Jersey City, N.J. when he captured this view of NASA's LADEE moon mission launch on Sept. 6, 2013. [See More Amazing LADEE Launch Photos by Stargazers]

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NASA's LADEE Probe Blasts Off — Nearby View

Credit: Val Klavans

Val Klavans, a NASA Social participant for the LADEE launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, snapped this shot of the liftoff from 2 miles away. [See More Amazing LADEE Launch Photos by Stargazers]

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LADEE Moon Mission Rising out of Sight

Credit: NASA TV

NASA's LADEE moon mission recedes into the dark skies over the space agency's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia shortly after launching on Sept. 6, 2013. [Read the Full Story Here]

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LADEE Launch from Spring Lake, New Jersey

Credit: Mike Black

Photographer Mike Black was in Spring Lake, N.J. when he captured this image of the LADEE moon probe launch on Sept. 6, 2013. [See More Amazing LADEE Launch Photos by Stargazers]

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LADEE Launches Into Space!

Credit: NASA TV

NASA's LADEE spacecraft launches toward the moon atop a Minotaur V rocket from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., on Sept. 6, 2013. The mission will probe the moon's thin atmosphere and dust environment. [Read the Full Story Here]

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NASA's LADEE Moon Mission Rises into the Sky

Credit: NASA TV

NASA's LADEE spacecraft rises into the night sky atop a Minotaur rocket on Sept. 6, 2013. [Read the Full Story Here]

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NASA's LADEE Moon Mission Blasts Off

Credit: NASA TV

This screengrab shows NASA's LADEE moon mission roaring off the pad in a blaze of flame on the night of Sept. 6, 2013. [Read the Full Story Here]

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LADEE Moon Mission Launch Trajectory

Credit: NASA TV

A computer screen shows the trajectory of NASA's LADEE moon mission a few minutes after it lifted off from Virginia on Sept. 6, 2013. [Read the Full Story Here]

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LADEE Launch Controllers Celebrate Success

Credit: NASA TV

Launch controllers relax and celebrate the successful liftoff of NASA's LADEE spacecraft on Sept. 6, 2013. [Read the Full Story Here]

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Minotaur V Rocket On Launch Pad with LADEE

Credit: NASA TV

Minotaur V Rocket On Launch Pad with LADEE [Read the Full Story Here]

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NASA Moon Pies at LADEE Launch

Credit: Miriam Kramer/SPACE.com

LADEE-themed Moon Pies stacked up at the Wallops Flight Facility's visitor center. Image released Sept. 6, 2013. [Read the Full Story Behind the Photo]

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NASA LADEE Probe Ready to Launch

Credit: NASA TV

NASA's LADEE moon dust probe and its Minotaur V rocket stand poised for launch atop Pad 0B at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va., ahead of a planned Sept. 6, 2013 launch.

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Full-Size Model of NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer

Credit: Miriam Kramer/SPACE.com

A 1:1 scale model of NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer spacecraft on display at the space agency's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. Image released on Sept. 6, 2013. [Read the Full Story Behind the Photo]

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Miriam Kramer and Minotaur V Rocket Carrying LADEE Mission

Credit: Andrea Peterson/SPACE.com

SPACE.com staff writer Miriam Kramer looks on at the Minotaur V rocket that will propel NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission. [Read the Full Story Behind the Photo]

Launch Photos! NASA's LADEE Moon Dust Mission Blasts Off (Gallery)

NASA LADEE Launches Toward the Moon

Liftoff! NASA's LADEE Moon Probe Blasts Off

Spectacular NYC View of LADEE Launch: Ben Cooper

Amazing NASA LADEE Launch: Chris Bakley

NASA's LADEE Moon Mission Launches: Sept. 6, 2013

LADEE Launch Viewed from Jersey City, N.J.

NASA's LADEE Probe Blasts Off — Nearby View

LADEE Moon Mission Rising out of Sight

LADEE Launch from Spring Lake, New Jersey

LADEE Launches Into Space!

NASA's LADEE Moon Mission Rises into the Sky

NASA's LADEE Moon Mission Blasts Off

LADEE Moon Mission Launch Trajectory

LADEE Launch Controllers Celebrate Success

Minotaur V Rocket On Launch Pad with LADEE

NASA Moon Pies at LADEE Launch

NASA LADEE Probe Ready to Launch

Full-Size Model of NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer

Miriam Kramer and Minotaur V Rocket Carrying LADEE Mission

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