The next lunar launch could be in mid-February, when another company, Intuitive Machines, plans to launch a lander there on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. A company spokesperson said Friday that the company is targeting a landing on or before Feb. 22, and if successful it would beat Astrobot by a day and make Intuitive Machines the first commercial company to land on the moon.
Monday’s launch of the Astrobotic spacecraft marks another potentially significant milestone: the first flight of a long-awaited new rocket designed by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing. I will do it. The Pentagon wants to use a rocket called Vulcan to launch national security missions, but ULA must first successfully complete two certification missions before it can be cleared to launch Pentagon satellites. There is.
Monday’s launch, scheduled for 2:18 a.m. ET, will also be a big moment for Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Jeff Bezos. Two of his BE-4 engines, manufactured by Blue Origin, will power the first stage of ULA’s Vulcan rocket on its maiden flight. Mr. Bezos and ULA CEO Tory Bruno first announced the engine deal in 2014 after ULA, which had been using Russian-made engines, was pressured by Congress to find a domestic supplier. However, development of the engine took much longer than originally expected, and the Vulcan’s debut had to be delayed. (Bezos owns the Washington Post.)
Blue Origin also plans to fly its New Glenn rocket for the first time this year. It is equipped with seven BE-4 engines.
The mission comes as NASA works toward Orion’s second lunar orbit, this time with NASA astronauts Christina Koch, Victor Glover, and Reed Wiseman and Canadian astronaut Jeremy・Four people, including Hansen, will be on board. The flight, a 10-day mission around the moon now known as Artemis II, is scheduled for later this year. But that could be pushed back to 2025, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in an interview, as engineers continue to study how the capsule’s heat shield worked during the first flight to the moon. He said there is. NASA officials said more of the heat shield burned down during re-entry than expected, although there was still plenty of headroom.
“At some point, all of these technological geniuses are going to come together and make a decision,” Nelson said. “I’m very optimistic that we’ll be able to get a heat shield that has the integrity that they want. But obviously we can’t fly until we fly, so the answer is You will get it.”
Meanwhile, SpaceX continues testing its Starship rocket and spacecraft. This spacecraft was chosen by NASA to land astronauts on the moon for the first two human landings under Artemis. The past two launches failed to reach orbit, but Elon Musk’s company has shown significant progress in that time. Recently, the company test-fired its next booster and the engines for the ships it plans to launch. It appears that another effort is coming, but it still needs approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Astrobotic’s Peregrine spacecraft will take a fairly direct route to the moon, Astrobotic CEO John Thornton said at a press conference in November. However, the landing is scheduled to be postponed until February 23 as the spacecraft wanders in lunar orbit, waiting for the sun to hit its intended landing site.
“Most of the time from launch to landing is actually waiting for the local lighting to be right,” he said. “Essentially, we’re trying to land on a specific location on the moon at a specific time, which is in the morning at this location.”
On Friday, he told reporters the company faces “many challenges to overcome,” including “many doubters.”
“When we started in Pittsburgh,” he said of the company’s headquarters. “The idea of starting a space company, much less going to the moon, was completely foreign and foreign. And people certainly and literally laughed at the concept.”
He said he was well aware of the difficulties of landing on the moon and that many previous attempts had failed. “It’s going to be a lot of emotions all at the same time: exciting, painful and scary,” he said. “If you look back over the course of history, only about half of them have been successful. And most of them are funded by superpowers with much larger budgets than this mission was given. , this is a really, really big challenge.”
Still, he said, “It’s a tremendous honor to lead America to the moon for the first time since Apollo, and I’m lucky to be a part of it.”
NASA announced Friday that the contract with Astrobotic is worth $108 million.
An Intuitive Machines spokesperson said the company expects its spacecraft to land “approximately seven days after launch.” However, the company has only said the launch date will be mid-February, so it’s not clear which companies will land first.
There are many other important space events scheduled for 2024.
On January 19, Japan’s space agency plans to land a robotic vehicle on the moon, making Japan the fifth country to land on the moon. However, landing on the moon is dangerous, and many previous attempts have failed. Last year, the Japanese company iSpace lost a spacecraft during an attempt to land on the moon. Russia also lost a spacecraft attempting to land on the moon last year.
Houston-based company Axiom is scheduled to fly its third commercial astronaut mission to the space station on January 17th. And in February, SpaceX is scheduled to begin its eighth crew rotation mission to the International Space Station.
In April, billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who commissioned a private astronaut mission in SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, will also fly another civilian-only mission. This time, the crew will step outside of the Dragon and conduct an extravehicular activity using pressure suits designed by SpaceX.
Also in April, Boeing plans to launch two NASA astronauts to the space station on the first manned test flight of its Starliner spacecraft. If successful, it would finally give NASA a means other than SpaceX to get astronauts into space. Boeing Co., which signed a contract with SpaceX in 2014 to transport astronauts to the space station, has faced years of setbacks and delays and has yet to fly with a crew, but SpaceX I’ve done that several times as well.
SpaceX aims to launch a record 98 rockets into orbit in 2023 and as many as 144 rockets this year as it continues to install its Starlink internet satellite constellation.
Space missions planned for 2024
January 8th — ULA plans to launch an Astrobotic spacecraft to the moon aboard a Vulcan rocket powered by Blue Origin engines.
January 17th — Axiom plans to send a group of civilians to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket, Axiom’s third chartered mission to the space station.
January 19th — Japan’s space agency plans to land a robotic vehicle on the moon.
February – SpaceX is scheduled to begin its eighth crew rotation mission to the International Space Station.
middle of February — Intuitive Machines plans to launch a spacecraft to the moon with a SpaceX booster.
April — SpaceX, under a charter from entrepreneur and philanthropist Jared Isaacman, plans to send a crew of commercial astronauts into orbit around Earth, including a spacewalk. It is expected that
April — Boeing is expected to launch a crew to the International Space Station in its long-delayed Starliner capsule.