Will the mission be successful? An “anomaly” occurred during a flight on the private American satellite on the way to the Moon, the Astrobotic company that developed it announced this Monday, January 8, and assures that it is working “in real time” to solve the problem.
“Unfortunately, an anomaly occurred that prevented Astrobotic from achieving a stable orientation toward the Sun,” the startup said.
The Vulcan Centaur rocket, the first American device to attempt to land on the moon in more than 50 years, took off this Monday morning, January 8, from Cape Canaveral. It includes solar panels that must point toward the Sun “to allow maximum electrical production,” according to company documentation.
There is no difficulty in taking off
The Vulcan Centaur rocket from the ULA industrial group, which brings together Boeing and Lockheed Martin, took off from Cape Canaveral (Florida) at 02:18 local time or 08:18 French time.
This departure was “impeccable,” according to the strategic planning director of the ULA industrial group, Eric Monda. “It was so good I ran out to see it,” he said.
After about 50 minutes of flight, the staff shouted with joy at the announcement of the separation of the rocket and the lunar vehicle, which now continues its route to our natural satellite on its own. Astrobotic then confirmed that it had successfully powered up the lander and established communication.
The teams mobilized
“After activating the propulsion system, Peregrine entered a fully operational operational state,” Astrobotic explained, specifying that the problem arose later.
“Teams are responding in real time as the situation develops and will provide more information as data is obtained and analyzed,” the company said.
If Astrobotic manages to land on the Moon as planned on February 23, it could become the first private company to achieve this feat. In recent years, Israeli and Japanese companies have attempted to land on the moon, but these missions ended in accidents.
Source: BFM TV
