Tag: Moon Express
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NASA picks nine commercial teams for moon deliveries – including dark horses
Lockheed Martin is offering its McCandless lunar lander, shown here with an onboard rover in an artist’s conception, for future NASA missions to the moon. (Lockheed Martin Illustration) NASA says it’s partnering on lunar delivery services with nine commercial teams, headed by companies that run the gamut from the space industry’s heavyweights to startups. The…
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Moon Express brings in $12.5M in backing for its lunar lander and Florida facilities
An artist’s conception shows Moon Express’ MX-1E spacecraft making its approach to the moon. (Moon Express Illustration) Moon Express, which aims to start missions to the moon within the next couple of years, says it has raised $2.5 million in bridge financing and has begun a $20 million Series B financing round, anchored by a…
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Towers at historic Florida launch pad toppled
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated at 7:50 a.m. EDT (1250 GMT) after demolition. Launch towers at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 17 launch pad were topped Thursday in an explosive demolition. Credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now The U.S. Air Force on Thursday demolished towers once used to assemble Delta 2 rockets at Cape Canaveral for missions to Mars, four dozen…
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Cape Canaveral’s LC-17 demolished after decades of service
Cape Canaveral’s LC-17 has been leveled after the demolition of its two service towers on Thursday. The pad last saw action with the retiring Delta II rocket but has a history that ranges back into the 1950s. It will become the new site for commercial operator Moon Express. Launch Complex 17, as it was then…
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Cape Canaveral’s LC-17 demolished after decades of service
Cape Canaveral’s LC-17 has been leveled after the demolition of its two service towers on Thursday. The pad last saw action with the retiring Delta II rocket but has a history that ranges back into the 1950s. It will become the new site for commercial operator Moon Express. Launch Complex 17, as it was then…
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Organizers confirm no teams will win Google Lunar X Prize
Artist’s concept of a privately-developed lunar lander designed by the Israeli team SpaceIL. Credit: SpaceIL None of the teams who have spent the last decade chasing a $20 million grand prize by placing a privately-funded lander on the moon will meet a deadline at the end of March to claim the award, the organizers of…
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Moon ambitions get a reality check — plus a boost from Apollo moonshot memories
An artist’s conception shows Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lunar lander. (Blue Origin Illustration) Update for 10:54 a.m. PT Jan. 23: The managers of the Google Lunar X Prize competition acknowledge that the prize will go unwon. Previously: Who’s going to the moon? The prospects are looking dimmer for any commercial lunar landings in the short…
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Rocket Lab sends Electron rocket into orbit, marking milestone for moon mission
Rocket Lab’s Electron launch vehicle rises from its launch pad in New Zealand. (Rocket Lab via YouTube) Rocket Lab’s two-stage Electron rocket successfully reached Earth orbit and deployed satellites for the first time today, raising hopes for far more ambitious missions to the moon. Today’s mission, which went up from Rocket Lab’s launch complex on…
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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin makes its pitch to Congress for delivering cargo to the moon
An artist’s concept shows the Blue Moon lander on the lunar surface. (Blue Origin Illustration) Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, joined other companies today in laying out plans for commercial missions to the moon during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill. “It’s time for America to return to the…
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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin makes its pitch to Congress for delivering cargo to the moon
An artist’s concept shows the Blue Moon lander on the lunar surface. (Blue Origin Illustration) Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, joined other companies today in laying out plans for commercial missions to the moon during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill. “It’s time for America to return to the…