Current:Home > NewsMoon landing attempt by U.S. company appears doomed after 'critical' fuel leak -OceanicInvest
Moon landing attempt by U.S. company appears doomed after 'critical' fuel leak
View
Date:2025-04-23 13:22:17
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The first U.S. moon landing attempt in more than 50 years appeared to be doomed after a private company's spacecraft developed a "critical" fuel leak just hours after Monday's launch.
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology managed to orient its lander toward the sun so the solar panel could collect sunlight and charge its battery, as a special team assessed the status of what was termed "a failure in the propulsion system."
It soon became apparent, however, that there was "a critical loss of fuel," further dimming hope for what had been a planned moon landing on Feb. 23.
Late Monday, the company said the leak was continuing and estimated that the lander would start losing solar power in about 40 hours.
The trouble was reported about seven hours after Monday's predawn liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket provided the lift for Astrobotic's lander, named Peregrine, putting it on a long, roundabout path to the moon.
A propulsion system problem "threatens the ability of the spacecraft to soft land on the moon," the company said. The lander is equipped with engines and thrusters for maneuvering, not only during the cruise to the moon but for lunar descent.
Astrobotic released a photo from a lander-mounted camera, which the company said showed a "disturbance" in a section of thermal insulation. That aligns with what is known so far of the problem, the company said.
Astrobotic was aiming to be the first private business to successfully land on the moon, something only four countries have accomplished. A second lander from a Houston company is due to launch next month. NASA gave the two companies millions to build and fly their own lunar landers.
The space agency wants the privately owned landers to scope out the place before astronauts arrive while delivering tech and science experiments for the space agency, other countries and universities as well as odds and ends for other customers. Astrobotic's contract with NASA for the Peregrine lander was $108 million and it has more in the pipeline.
Before the flight, NASA's Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, noted that while using private companies to make deliveries to the moon will be cheaper and quicker than going the usual government route, there will be added risk. He stressed that the space agency was willing to accept that risk, noting Monday: "Each success and setback are opportunities to learn and grow."
The last time the U.S. launched a moon-landing mission was in December 1972. Apollo 17's Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt became the 11th and 12th men to walk on the moon, closing out an era that has remained NASA's pinnacle.
The space agency's new Artemis program — named after the twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology — looks to return astronauts to the moon's surface within the next few years. First will be a lunar fly-around with four astronauts, possibly before the end of the year.
Highlighting Monday's moonshot was the long-delayed initial test flight of the Vulcan rocket. The 202-foot (61-meter) rocket is essentially an upgraded version of ULA's hugely successful workhorse Atlas V, which is being phased out along with the company's Delta IV. Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, provided the Vulcan's two main engines.
ULA declared success once the lander was free of the rocket's upper stage, nearly an hour into the flight and before the spacecraft's propulsion system malfunctioned and prevented the solar panel from properly pointing toward the sun.
Landing on the moon has long been a series of hits and misses. The Soviet Union and the U.S. racked up a string of successful moon landings in the 1960s and 70s, before putting touchdowns on pause. China joined the elite club in 2013 and India in 2023. But last year also saw landers from Russia and a private Japanese company slam into the moon. An Israeli nonprofit crashed in 2019.
Next month, SpaceX will provide the lift for a lander from Intuitive Machines. The Houston company's Nova-C lander takes a more direct one-week route to the moon.
Besides flying experiments for NASA, Astrobotic drummed up its own freight business, packing the 6-foot-tall (1.9-meter-tall) Peregrine lander. On board the lander: a chip of rock from Mount Everest, toy-size cars from Mexico and ashes and DNA of deceased space enthusiasts, including "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.
The Navajo Nation recently sought to have the launch delayed because of the human remains. saying it would be a "profound desecration" of a celestial body revered by Native Americans. Astrobotic chief executive John Thornton said the December objections came too late but promised to try to find "a good path forward" with the Navajo for future missions.
One of the spaceflight memorial companies that bought room on the lander, Celestis, said in a statement that no single culture or religion owns the moon and should not be able to veto a mission. More remains are on the rocket's upper stage, which was boosted into a perpetual orbit around the sun reaching as far out as Mars.
Cargo fares for Peregrine ranged from a few hundred dollars to $1.2 million per kilogram (2.2 pounds), not nearly enough for Astrobotic to break even. But for the first flight, that's not the point, according to Thornton.
"A lot of people's dreams and hopes are riding on this," Thornton said days before the flight.
veryGood! (968)
Related
- Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
- Tish Cyrus shares photos from 'fairytale' wedding to Dominic Purcell at daughter Miley's home
- What happens to Wagner Group now? What Prigozhin's presumed death could mean for the mercenary troops
- DeSantis leaves campaign trail and returns to Florida facing tropical storm and shooting aftermath
- Small twin
- Man convicted of killing LAPD cop after 40 years in retrial
- Bob Barker, longtime The Price Is Right host, dies at 99
- Families mourn Jacksonville shooting victims, Tropical Storm Idalia forms: 5 Things podcast
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Global inflation pressures could become harder to manage in coming years, research suggests
Ranking
- New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
- Selena Gomez Reacts to Speculation Her Song “Single Soon” Is About Ex-Boyfriend The Weeknd
- Verstappen eyes ninth straight F1 win after another Dutch GP pole. Norris second fastest
- Texans vs. Saints: How to watch Sunday's NFL preseason clash
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Former Olympian Alexandra Paul killed in car crash at 31, Skate Canada says
- Man convicted of killing LAPD cop after 40 years in retrial
- Texas takeover raises back-to-school anxiety for Houston students, parents and teachers
Recommendation
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
‘He knew we had it in us’: Bernice King talks father Martin Luther King Jr.’s enduring ‘dream’
Biden and Harris will meet with King’s family on 60th anniversary of the March on Washington
After devastating wildfires, Hawai'i begins football season with Maui in their hearts
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise after Fed chief speech
Phoenix Mercury's postseason streak ends at 10 seasons
The towering legends of the Muffler Men