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Unfortunately, it appears the failure within the propulsion system is causing a critical loss of propellant. The team is working to try and stabilize this loss, but given the situation, we have prioritized maximizing the science and data we can capture. We are currently assessing what alternative mission profiles may be feasible at this time.
www.astrobotic.com...
originally posted by: gortex
Latest statement from Astrobotic as of 20 minutes ago , still shooting for the Moon.
originally posted by: matafuchs
My questions is.....why is Space X no longer involved. There are some odd politics at play. ULA is Lockheed/Boeing. They want to get there before Musk. He wants to go to Mars but wants real estate on the moon.
Then when we look closer we see the engines are from....drum roll please.....Bllue Origin.
Bezos....
We are doomed.
My questions is.....why is Space X no longer involved
Peregrine has been operational in space for 55 hours. We are at an approximate distance of 192,000 miles from Earth, which is 80% of the way to lunar distance. Although we are approaching lunar distance, the Moon won’t be there. We remain on our nominal trajectory for the mission, which includes a phasing loop around Earth. This loop goes out to lunar distance, swings back around the Earth, and then cruises out to meet the Moon. This trajectory reaches the Moon in about 15 days post-launch.
Peregrine continues to leak propellant but remains operationally stable and continues to gather valuable data. We estimate that we will run out of propellant in about 35 hours, an improvement on yesterday’s update. The team is working around the clock to generate options to extend the spacecraft’s life.
www.astrobotic.com...
Peregrine remains operational at about 238,000 miles from Earth, which means that we have reached lunar distance! As we posted in Update #10, the Moon is not where the spacecraft is now (see graphic). Our original trajectory had us arriving at the Moon on day 15 post launch. Our propellant estimates currently have us running out of fuel before this 15-day mark — however, our engineers are still optimistic about extending Peregrine’s life expectancy.
On Thursday, January 18, 2024, at NOON ET, Astrobotic is hosting a teleconference with NASA for major mission updates and will be streamed on select NASA channels. With Peregrine operating in a stable configuration and a teleconference imminent, we will post an update tomorrow, but will be slowing down our update cadence for now. Thank you again for the words of support we’ve received for our team.
www.astrobotic.com...