Tag: Astrobotic
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Peregrine lander suffers propulsion ‘anomaly,’ Moon landing seemingly unlikely
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander in the clean room at Astrotech in Titusville, Florida. The spacecraft was the main payload onboard the first launch of ULA’s Vulcan rocket. Image: ULA In situation seemly pulled from a science fiction movie, a robotic mission to the Moon swung from the brink of failure to having renewed hope before…
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ULA marks success with the inaugural mission of its Vulcan rocket launching a Moon-bound robotic lander
The inaugural Vulcan rocket leaps off the pad at Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The booster was powered by the first pair of BE-4 engines to fly in space. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now With the company’s future riding on it, United Launch Alliance’s first Vulcan rocket successfully put a commercial robotic…
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Milestone moon lander mission targets an otherworldly frontier for DNA data storage
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander is prepared for placement within its launch vehicle’s fairing. (Astrobotic Photo) A mission to send a commercial lander to the moon, set for launch in a couple of days, will bring the fruition of projects that have been in the works for years — including projects that aim to put DNA into…
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NASA discusses Moon-bound science as ULA’s Vulcan rocket gets go ahead for Jan. 8 launch
The payload for the Certification-1 (Cert-1) flight test on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket is encapsulated inside its payload fairing in preparation for launch. The mission will launch the first Astrobotic Peregrine commercial lunar lander, as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, into a highly elliptical orbit more than 220,000…
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ULA stacks Vulcan rocket for the first time ahead of Jan. 8 debut launch
ULA’s fully integrated Vulcan rocket with the addition of the payload fairings added on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. On board is the main payload, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander. Image: ULA United Launch Alliance achieved a critical milestone towards the debut of its next launch vehicle. On Wednesday, the company integrated the payload fairing on top…
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ULA’s first mission with its Vulcan rocket slides to January launch window
ULA’s Vulcan rocket sits at the pad at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41) ahead of the start of a wet dress rehearsal tanking test on Friday, Dec. 8, 2023. Image: ULA Update: Added additional context from social media posts from Tory Bruno confirming that the launch will move to January. The debut of United Launch…
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Three robotic missions target Moon landings over one week in January
Intuitive Machines engineers loading the IM-1 mission Nova-C lunar lander into its custom container in Houston, TX. Image: Intuitive Machines In a blend of interesting circumstances and happenstance, two private companies and Japan’s space agency are all poised to land on the Moon in the back half of January 2024. The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency…
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Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander arrives in Florida ahead of Christmas Eve Moon-bound launch
Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander in the clean room at Astrotech in Titusville, Florida. The spacecraft will be the main payload onboard the first launch of ULA’s Vulcan rocket. Image: ULA The first payload teed up for NASA’s industry-led missions to the Moon has arrived in Florida. Astrobotic announced on Halloween that its Peregrine lunar lander…
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For the first launch of ULA’s Vulcan rocket, it’s Christmas or next year
Three days at Christmastime will be the final chance for United Launch Alliance to get its new Vulcan rocket off the ground this year, the company’s chief executive announced Tuesday. Still waiting for delivery of an upper stage and a final round of qualification testing following a test mishap earlier this year, Tory Bruno, ULA’s…
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It’s crunch time for companies building NASA’s commercial lunar landers
Within a few months, NASA may celebrate the first successful landing of an American spacecraft on the Moon in more than 50 years. This would be an immense confidence boost for commercial startups with an eye on the nascent market for lunar missions. It would also signal to NASA that it can rely on commercial…