The New York Times reports that a spacecraft that “was headed to the surface of the moon has ended up back at Earth instead, burning up in the planet’s atmosphere on Thursday afternoon.” Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh “announced in a post on the social network X that it lost communication with its Peregrine moon lander at 3:50 p.m. Eastern time, which served as an indication that it entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the South Pacific at around 4:04 p.m.” It was a sad end to a trip that “lasted 10 days and covered more than half a million miles, with the craft traveling past the orbit of the moon before swinging back toward Earth.” But the spacecraft “never got close to its landing destination on the near side of the moon.” The main payloads “on the spacecraft were from NASA, part of an effort to put experiments on the moon at a lower cost by using commercial companies.” Astrobotic’s launch “was the first in the program, known as Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or CLPS.”
Full Story (New York Times – Subscription publication)
Tag: January 18
AIAA Statement on the Axiom Space AX-3 Launch
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 18, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) CEO Dan Dumbacher made the following statement:
“On behalf of the 30,000 professional and student members of AIAA, we congratulate the entire Axiom Space team on its successful AX-3 launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. We applaud this private mission to the International Space Station (ISS), showing how NASA and private industry are working together to extend the human neighborhood into low Earth orbit.
It is exciting to anticipate the AX-3 crew’s busy schedule onboard the ISS orbiting laboratory, conducting more than 30 scientific investigations into human health and well-being, radiation exposure, genetic expression, and Earth observations. This meaningful research in space is expanding our scientific knowledge as we witness the space economy growing. These explorers and innovators are working to improve life on Earth and accelerate our off-world future. We look forward to following their progress.
We recognize the countless aerospace industry professionals involved in making this mission a success. We salute AIAA Corporate Member Axiom Space, as they collaborate with NASA and SpaceX. They are shaping the future of aerospace.”
AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
Video
AX-3 launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center at 4:49 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 18.
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)