Athena II
 
Athena II  
30" x 40" oil (1997)  
© Northrop Grumman  

The Athena II lifts off from Cape Canaveral starting NASA's Lunar Prospector mission to the moon. A Thiokol STAR™ 37FM motor was used on the mission as a trans-lunar-injection stage. Thiokol CASTOR 120® solid rocket motors used as first and second stages make Athena II the most powerful small launch vehicle in the world today. The Athena II will be launched from both the eastern and western ranges to serve the entire small satellite market. 		 

 

Artist's Note: The caption reflects the 1997 timeframe. This was painted prior to the launch of the Lunar Prospector mission. The actual flight occured at night.







  
Many of the Northrop Grumman paintings are available as high quality prints trough Northrop Grumman. While not normally available to the general public, the prints are available to military units, aerospace organizations and industry representatives. Reproduced with permission of Northop Grumman. Unauthorized use of this image is strictly forbidden.