Successful Launch! Space is hard.
We had a spectacular launch last night. It was so fun watching the rocket with the LifeShip community—an inspirational and emotionally powerful experience. Read on about the successful launch and an unfortunate anomaly the lander is facing that will likely impact our final destination.
Watch the launch!
Check out some of our favorite photos and then read on for the challenges ahead.
Credit: Ars Technica
Credit: Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty Images
Credit: Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP
Credit: Northrom Grummon
Space is Hard!
About 3 hours after launch, Astrobotic announced an anomaly with the lunar lander spacecraft.
"Unfortunately, an anomaly occurred, which prevented Astrobotic from achieving a stable sun-pointing orientation. The team is responding in real time as the situation unfolds and will be providing updates as data is obtained and analyzed."
There is a failure with the propellant system that is causing a critical loss of fuel. Read more here.
Engineers are working around the clock to get the maximum out of the mission but it is looking unlikely that it will make it to the lunar surface. Astrobotic is working to get the maximum utility out of the mission. We will see where we go.
Space is hard. No private moon lander has made it to the Moon surface yet—three have tried. It's a feat only achieved by four nation-state superpowers.
We believe in the high risk private space industry and that community-powered space exploration is part of humanity's future beyond Earth. We're in this for the long run and know that our journey to the stars will not be easy. Fortunately, we are on two more upcoming lunar landers, with the next one planned for later this year.
At LifeShip, we guarantee you will get to the Moon. We've saved enough copies of all customer content for several attempts.
We are excited to see where this mission goes. It is unlikely to make it to the Moon but hopefully will be placed in a good stable orbit as a first long term backup of Earth.
Thank you for being part of the LifeShip mission and community. We've got an exciting journey ahead.
To the stars and beyond,
Ben
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