The Naval Research Laboratory's Tactical Satellite IV (TacSat-4) has been encapsulated inside the fairing (nose cone) of an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur-IV+ launch vehicle in preparation for a Sept. 27 launch from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation's Kodiak Launch Complex.

NASA wants to explore the Moon's polar regions for many reasons, not the least of which is that deep polar craters may contain ice. However, the instability of polar orbits poses a real problem for exploration and communication with Earth.