As part of NASA’s commercial lunar payload services initiative, Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander launched on United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan rocket at 2:18 a.m. EST from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. [Courtesy: NASA]
Key Takeaways:
The first U.S. commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) mission, Astrobotic's Peregrine lander, successfully launched on ULA's inaugural Vulcan rocket, aiming for the first U.S. moon landing in over 50 years.
Hours into the mission, the Peregrine lander experienced a "propulsion anomaly" that threatens its ability to soft land on the moon and initially led to critically low battery levels.
Although an improvised maneuver successfully reoriented the spacecraft to recharge its battery, the team is still troubleshooting the propulsion system failure that jeopardizes the mission's overall success.
The first U.S. commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) mission launched before dawn Monday, headed to the moon with a payload of NASA instruments to study the lunar surface.
Hours into the mission, however, a “propulsion anomaly” potentially threatened the success of the lander reaching the moon’s surface as planned.
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