Just how "private" is Beresheet..? Israel's first moon landing hoax?

Just how "private" is Beresheet..? Israel's first moon landing hoax?

PART 1:

The first privately-developed lunar spacecraft has arrived in Florida in preparation for its launch next month. Source: www.space.com...

As we shall see in the following citations the Israeli moon lander is far from being “privately-developed”.

SpaceIL's Beresheet — Hebrew for "In the Beginning" — will become the first privately funded mission to launch from Earth and land on the moon, and the first spacecraft to propel itself over the lunar surface after landing by "hopping" on its rocket engine to a second landing spot. Source: www.space.com...

We shall see in the following citations that the phrase “privately funded” is meant to obscure the deep partnerships with the Israeli military-industrial-complex and utilization of NASA assets, communications networks and launch facilities.

As far as the “hopping” claim… that’s not quite true. The Surveyor 6 could “hop” 50 years ago.

PART 2.

The Israeli government has promised to fund 10% of the project, he said, but the money still has to come. “The government should recognize that space is very important for the future,” he (Morris Kahn) said. Source: www.timesofisrael.com...

Rhetorical question… how can this be a "private" venture with 10% funding promised from the Israeli government? Mr. Kahn is the single biggest source of “private funding” for Beresheet. Why would he say that the Israeli government would fund 10% when other articles indicate the project is “privately” funded by billionaires?

NASA is also giving SpaceIL time on the agency's Deep Space Network, which communicates with beyond-Earth missions via satellite dishes in California, Spain, and Australia. In return, NASA will get a copy of all the data collected by the mission's single science instrument: a magnetometer to measure "magnetic anomalies" in Mare Serenitatis. Source: www.planetary.org...

So a deal was made with NASA “giving” time on the DSN “in return” for a few days of magnetometer data. I wonder if the employees at NASA, Cape Canaveral and DSN will be getting a per diem from the Israeli government!

in October: NASA announced it would provide SpaceIL with observations from a Moon-orbiting spacecraft, a laser retroreflector for the lander, and communications support during the mission. The partnership was made under the agency's new Lunar Discovery and Exploration Program, or LDEP, which is part of the Trump administration's plans to return humans to the surface of the Moon. Source: same as above

And again... how is this a "private" venture when NASA+LDEP=US TAX DOLLARS.

LRO has a laser altimeter, but the team actually avoids aiming it at retroreflectors left behind by the Apollo astronauts because the return signal could damage the spacecraft. Source: same again.

FACT…. a LASER ALTIMETER IS powerful enough to damage a spacecraft. But thanks for trying guys.

PART 3:

The $100 million dollar mission to the moon would not be possible without the assistance of military-industrial resources... and the "time capsule" propaganda is a distraction.

Carrying instrumentation to measure the magnetic field of the moon, a laser-reflector provided by NASA and a time-capsule of cultural and historical Israeli artifacts, Source: www.timesofisrael.com...

SpaceIL will be taking some useless historical artifacts on the mission when they know that every kilogram matters at launch.

The entire point of SpaceIL’s trip to the Moon is to prove that it can be done, and for a reasonable cost. The lander won’t last long once it’s completed its landing, and it doesn’t have a list of science objectives or powerful instruments to utilize once it gets there. The hardware will only remain “alive” for days but, if all goes according to plan, that will be enough for SpaceIL to prove its point. Source: bgr.com...

They are doing this to prove it is cheap? $100 million dollar mission, %10 Israeli government funding, NASA tax payer dollars involved (laser deflector equipment, DSN communications assets)... all for machine that will only provide a few days of data. $100 million for a few days of magnetic data?? Fool and his money are soon parted... do billionaires become billionaires by throwing away $100 MILLION? No.

Spaceflight, the launch logistics subsidiary of Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries, brokered Beresheet’s inclusion as a secondary payload on a mission that will send Indonesia’s PSN-6 telecommunications satellite, also known as Nusantara Satu, toward geostationary orbit. Source: www.geekwire.com...

Again... how is this a "private" mission if SpaceIL has to broker a deal with a middle man to hitch a ride on an Indonesian telecom sat that's riding on a SpaceX rocket, launching from a U.S. government facility in support of the US President's and NASA's LDEP???

The flight plan calls for the Beresheet spacecraft, PSN-6 and an undisclosed U.S. government satellite to be sent into geostationary transfer orbit. Source: www.geekwire.com...

^Here is the meat and potatoes. "...an undisclosed U.S. government satellite..." aaaaannnnd a “time capsule”.

a CD-sized “time capsule” that contains digitized files of children’s drawings, photographs and information about Israeli culture. Source: www.geekwire.com...

PART 4:

What’s really in the time capsule?

The time capsule consists of three discs, each containing hundreds of digital files. Included among the files, which will travel to the moon inside SpaceIL’s lunar spacecraft, are: Details about the spacecraft and the crew building it; national symbols, like Israel’s Declaration of Independence, the Bible, Israel’s national anthem, “Hatikvah”, and the Israeli flag; cultural objects; materials – paintings, for example – collected over many years from the public for sending to the moon; dictionaries in 27 languages and encyclopedias, such as Wikipedia, an indication of knowledge accumulated by all humanity thus far; Israeli songs; the Wayfarer’s Prayer; books of art and science and Israeli literature; information about Israeli scientific and technological discoveries and developments that influenced the world; photos Israel’s landscapes and of leading figures in Israeli culture; a children’s book that was inspired by SpaceIL’s mission to the moon. Source: www.thevenustransit.com...

SpaceIL is a nonprofit organization that was set up to pursue the now-expired Google Lunar X Prize. It’s working on the Beresheet mission in collaboration with state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries. Source: www.geekwire.com...

"...in collaboration with state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries." That means it's not private.

Israeli billionaire Morris Kahn is SpaceIL’s president and main financial backer, providing $40 million for the project. Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, contributed another $24 million. Other backers of the nearly $100 million effort include philanthropists Lynn Schusterman, Steven and Nancy Grand, Sylvan Adams and Sami Sagol.

In October, SpaceIL and the Israeli Space Agency announced a collaboration with NASA that will enable SpaceIL to improve its ability to track and communicate with the spacecraft before, during, and after landing on the moon. Two weeks ago a retro-reflector from NASA was installed on the spacecraft, an instrument that reflects laser beams and will enable NASA to precisely locate the spacecraft on the lunar surface after the landing. SpaceIL, the Israel Space Agency and NASA also agreed that NASA will have access to data gathered by the magnetometer installed aboard the Israeli spacecraft. Source: www.thevenustransit.com...

The addition of the NASA instrument package (laser deflector) was an after thought that occurred in October 2018.

About Israel Aerospace Industries: IAI Ltd. is Israel’s largest aerospace and defense company and a globally recognized technology and innovation leader, specializing in developing and manufacturing advanced, state-of-the-art systems for air, space, sea, land, cyber and homeland security. Source: www.thevenustransit.com...

The IAI is basically the military-industrial-complex of Israel. They specialize in weapons.

IAI is wholly owned by the government of Israel. Source: en.wikipedia.org...

The laser deflector deal was brokered between the IAI and NASA, both are government funded organizations. The Beresheet is neither privately funded nor is it privately developed.

The only thing private about this launch are the details of ”…an undisclosed U.S. government satellite..."

Great to see you back on the site SayonaraJupiter

Always great to read your threads bud

Rhetorical question… how can this be a "private" venture with 10% funding promised from the Israeli government?

How many privately funded projects in the US receive government grants and funding ?
I would say most
Done
Next

Private in the same way Space X is a private space company.

a reply to: SayonaraJupiter

originally posted by: Gothmog

How many privately funded projects in the US receive government grants and funding ?
I would say most

Why don't you answer your own rhetorical question, Ay? Save us the time and effort won't you?

Lunar Lander (Israel)
Launch: 19 February 2019
Dry Mass: 150 kg
Beresheet, originally designated SpaceIL, is a lunar lander funded and built by the non-profit organization SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries, with technical support from the Israel Space Agency.

The mission is scheduled to launch on 19 February 2019 at 01:58 UT

and land on the Moon roughly two months later.

The landing craft is a four-legged circular platform with a launch mass of about 585 kg. It stands 1.5 meters high, and 2 meters in diameter. It holds approximately 435 kg of fuel. Solar panels mounted on top of the spacecraft deck provide power. The lander will carry imagers, a magnetometer, and a laser retroreflector.

After launch as a secondary payload (the primary payload is the PSN-6 communications satellite) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, Beresheet will separate at an altitude of 60,000 km and go into an elliptical Earth orbit. From there is will make maneuvers to go into lunar orbit, and then go into an autonomous landing procedure. It will land in Mare Serenitatis and transmit data from the surface for about 2 days. The entire mission will take about 2 1/2 months.

Beresheet is the Hebrew word for "Genesis". Source: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov...

See you all back here in 9 days.

all I could think of at the moment...

originally posted by: SayonaraJupiter
^Here is the meat and potatoes. "...an undisclosed U.S. government satellite..." aaaaannnnd a “time capsule”.

Said that way sounds like the "undisclosed U.S. government satellite" is going aboard Beresheet, while in fact is a different mission.

Implying an extra connection between Beresheet and the US government satellite is the same as implying another connect to the Indonesian satellite.

That lethal evil NASA satellite destroying laser weapon in full:

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center is giving SpaceIL a laser retroreflector array, or LRA, to install on the spacecraft — essentially an array of mirrors that reflect lasers in order to measure distance (LightSail 2 and other Earth-orbiting spacecraft carry similar arrays). There are no immediate plans to use the retroreflector; LRO has a laser altimeter, but the team actually avoids aiming it at retroreflectors left behind by the Apollo astronauts because the return signal could damage the spacecraft. Earth-bound laser stations use the Apollo retroreflectors to measure the distance to the Moon, but the SpaceIL equivalent will be too small for that. Instead, NASA is providing the retroreflector with the future in mind. Over time, a network of similar reflectors could be built and used for navigation by spacecraft in orbit. "Each lander that carries an LRA, we can build up a navigational system on the Moon, providing more information to orbiting satellites and future landers, both robotic and human," said Cole.

a reply to: ArMaP

Yes, it's a "Rideshare":

The lander, which is in the process of being named through an online contest, will leave Earth aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. SpaceIL is one of at least three customers with spacecraft aboard the flight. The primary payload is an Indonesian telecommunications satellite called PSN-6, built by sat-building company SSL. Another undisclosed rider rumored to be a U.S. government satellite. Rideshare missions are common, but this one is unique because one spacecraft is headed to the Moon while two others will trek to geosynchronous orbit, a region almost 36,000 kilometers above Earth. There, satellites have one-day orbits to match Earth’s rotation, enabling them to linger over the same ground spot.

Nothing sinister about that.

This post further examines some examples of the poor reporting on this Israeli mission that A) isn't privately funded or privately developed B) has US Air Force equipment riding along, C) will melt in the sun after 2-3 days on the moon.

Continuous Israeli propaganda about "private funding". This same article now adds the information about the undisclosed U.S. satellite... it's NOT a civilian US government equipment... it's military-industrial U.S.A.F. equipment.

"The Falcon 9 rocket launch that brings Beresheet into space will also launch a large geo-communication satellite and other equipment for the US Air Force." Source: www.timesofisrael.com...

Beresheet will send information for approximately two to three days before the sun’s rays are expected to melt parts of the communication system, ending the mission.

Does it make sense to spend $100 million for the lander mission if you can't afford to go the whole way and give Beresheet a modest amount of shielding?? Rhetorical: NO.

Another mainstream news article points out the weight is 350 pounds. Obviously none of the weight is in shielding.

In its final form, Beresheet weighs 350 pounds, not counting a half-ton of onboard propellant. Source: www.nbcnews.com...

For comparison, NASA’s last robotic moon lander was Surveyor 7 all the way back in 1968. It weighed twice as much as Beresheet,

So, the Beresheet communications systems will melt in 2-3 days on the moon but the journey to the moon takes about 1.5 months? What protects Beresheet from melting in the sun on a 45 day trip?

“In the Apollo days they got to the moon within two days, but it will take us about one and a half months,” Winetraub says. “That’s how it is if you don’t want to pay full price.”

I contend that this SpaceX mission is a cover mission - probably for the placement of laser weapons on the moon.

originally posted by: SayonaraJupiter
Continuous Israeli propaganda about "private funding". This same article now adds the information about the undisclosed U.S. satellite... it's NOT a civilian US government equipment... it's military-industrial U.S.A.F. equipment.

Why do you keep on talking about a parallel mission as if it was part of Beresheet's mission?

So, the Beresheet communications systems will melt in 2-3 days on the moon but the journey to the moon takes about 1.5 months? What protects Beresheet from melting in the sun on a 45 day trip?

Read what you wrote: what is expected to "melt" is the communications system, not the ship itself.

a reply to: SayonaraJupiter

I contend that this SpaceX mission is a cover mission - probably for the placement of laser weapons on the moon.

What would be the point of putting laser weapons on the Moon when they could just be put in orbit?

I don't think you understand what the whole Rideshare thing is.

originally posted by: putnam6
all I could think of at the moment...

Too late...

Wired magazine has confirmed Beresheet spacecraft is "(mostly) privately funded".

If successful, the lander will be the first Israeli spacecraft to travel beyond Earth orbit, and also the first (mostly) privately funded spacecraft to touch down on the lunar surface. Source www.wired.com...

I just wonder if these "space journalists" take themselves seriously?

CNET says "...funded entirely by private sources..."

the mission will be the first lunar landing funded entirely by private sources and the first trip to the moon for Israel... Source www.cnet.com...

Aaaaand, looks like the "spokesman" is walking back the statement about Beresheet making a "hop" from the surface.

A SpaceIL spokesperson told me that Beresheet is unlikely to be able to hop across the surface of the moon, but an attempt hasn't been completely ruled out. Source Same

Operators have to decide on a hop within 2 days of landing because the communications equipment will melt in the sun in 2-3 days, as stated in other on-line articles.

Here is the USAF military-industrial-payload that is also riding on the same SpaceX launch as Beresheet:

Air Force Research Laboratory's S5

S5 is a state-of-the-art 60 kg microsat bus for the Space Situational Awareness (S5) mission, led by the Air Force. Applied Defense Systems (ADS) will provide the payload. BCT will spearhead integration of the S5 payload with the microsat bus, conduct launch vehicle integration and perform bus-level functionality testing of the spacecraft prior to delivery. Source space.skyrocket.de...

Because you need "situational awareness" if you are planning to weaponize space.

The S5 payload was only confirmed a 10 days ago... the day after I posted this thread.

Spaceflight, the Seattle-based company that brokers rideshare launch services, confirmed in a Feb. 11 statement
that it will be flying the S5 satellite for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as a secondary payload on the Falcon 9 launch of the PSN-6, or Nusantara Satu, communications satellite built by Space Systems Loral, a division of Maxar Technologies, for Indonesian company PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara. Source www.space.com...

Industry observers, though, had believed there was at least one additional secondary payload on the launch, but its identity wasn't confirmed until the Spaceflight announcement. That release, though, provided few details about S5 and its mission. Source same

So they are keeping a tight lock on the details of the USAF military-industrial S5.

The S5 satellite will be attached not to the rocket's upper stage or payload adapter but instead to the Nusantara Satu satellite itself, Spaceflight explained in its statement. "Before the telecommunications satellite reaches its final GEO position, it will separate the S5 spacecraft which will then turn on and start its mission," Spaceflight said. Source same

I contend that this is how space is about to become a battle ground. Space weapons do not need to be large, heavy or expensive. Space weapons can be hidden - as in this case - beneath the weight of the Israeli Beresheet propaganda.

There won't be any headlines. But satellites will fail more frequently in the future. The S5 could just as well be a satellite *killer*, in the interest of US commercial space. Where ever commerce goes also goes the soldiers & mercenaries...

Wernher von Braun warned us.

originally posted by: SayonaraJupiter
I contend that this is how space is about to become a battle ground. Space weapons do not need to be large, heavy or expensive. Space weapons can be hidden - as in this case - beneath the weight of the Israeli Beresheet propaganda.

It would better hidden if if was not "beneath the weight of the Israeli Beresheet propaganda" but with an unknown satellite.

What's the point of a secret mission being launched along with a mission with a lot of media exposure?

To me it looks like you are obsessed with the Israeli mission just because it's an Israeli mission and trying to find things you can accuse them of.

PS: it would be nice if you answered a few posts, this is supposed to be a discussion forum, not your private blog.