Mission updates and Starship 💥 Rockets sometimes go boom

Rockets sometimes go boom 💥

This was a big week in space and a big historical day in the Universe. SpaceX's Starship rocket lifted off and flew on it's first test flight. It is the biggest rocket ever built and the first fully reusable rocket. Starship flew for four minutes. Well beyond the success criteria set for this test launch. It lost several of 33 engines and had to be detonated by the safety system. I was there! It was extremely exciting and felt like a hugely successful milestone. More below!

Mission Two Updates

Mission Two with Firefly Blue Ghost lander and SpaceX is planned for launch to the moon in Spring 2024. Check out the Spectre thrusters for Blue Ghost lander. They look great and are on schedule for final engine qualification. There is still space to get onboard this moon mission. 

Firefly Blue Ghost engines (Credit: Firefly)

Mission One delayed till June or July

Mission One launches on a ULA Vulcan rocket, Astrobotic lander, and LifeShip is part of the Arch Mission Lunar Library II. It was aiming for a May 4th launch but ULA, had an issue while testing an upper stage of the rocket. It exploded. This was not the flight hardware for our mission but it will delay the launch of Mission One. The boom was caused by a hydrogen leak. ULA is evaluating and estimates our launch will be delayed until June or July. Watch the video to see the explosion. Hope you'll join us for the community watch party even if your DNA is not onboard this one.

ULA test stand explosion (Credit ULA)

Starship launch

Starship is the world's biggest rocket and the first fully reusable one. SpaceX takes an iterative approach and demonstrates increasing capabilities as they learn and improve the rockets. 

Ben at Starbase!

This launch was a monumental day in humanity's path towards becoming a multiplanetary species. I got to see Starbase and watch the launch alongside friends and an astronaut. The excitement was so high. It felt like a very important milestone in the story of the Universe. Space settlements and interstellar journeys feel a bit closer.

It is an exciting time to be alive and to be part of space exploration. And another reminder that space is hard! We are on our way with an agile approach to backing up Earth and spreading life to the stars.

We've already launched twice to the International Space Station. Mission One's rocket is on the pad and we hope to launch soon. Mission Two is progressing well and there is still room to add DNA, pet's DNA, ashes, and photos at LifeShip.com.

We'll get to the Moon together and keep taking steps to the stars. It promises to be an exciting journey. Hope you'll join us and propagate a copy of you across space and time with LifeShip. 

Thanks for being part of the LifeShip community and our epic mission to the stars.

💥 Ben