Astrobotic Technologies's private lunar module is ready for its first space flight
(Astrobotic Technoloogies https://bit.ly/3YhTfeD)
The company Astrobotic Technologies has completed all testing of its Peregrine lunar lander for its first flight to the moon, due to launch in the coming months.
During the test, the module will deliver 14 scientific instruments for NASA to the Lake of Death on the visible side of the Moon.
Peregrine is being developed by the private space company Astrobotic Technologies.
The capsule is a small-class lander capable of delivering a variety of scientific instruments or rovers., with a total mass of 70-100 kilograms, to the lunar surface or orbit.
The module is about 1.9 meters high and about 2.5 meters wide and is equipped with solar panels located on the sides of the case.
The propulsion system consists of five main hydrazine thrusters and four orientation thrusters.
Communication with the Earth is provided using a medium gain antenna, in the case of a polar configuration of the module, a high gain antenna is added.
MODULE READY
At the end of last year, Astrobotic Technologies completed testing of the assembled first Peregrine module for immunity to electromagnetic interference.
Then, on January 25, 2023, the company announced the completion of thermal vacuum tests, thereby recognizing the module as ready to be sent to the spaceport.
The start date for Peregrine as part of the first Peregrine Mission 1 has not yet been determined. We only know that this is the first quarter of 2023.
The flight will take place under a contract with NASA as part of the CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) program.
The module must fly with two communications satellites on a Vulcan launch vehicle with a Centaur upper stage, created by the United Launch Alliance.
This will be the first flight for the rocket. Both the Vulcan and the upper stage have already arrived at the launch site at Cape Canaveral.
The payload of the module in the first mission consists of 14 instruments:
- retroreflectors
- lidar
- spectrometers and mass spectrometers
- a magnetometer
- a neutron sensor
- instruments for photoelectric research and the lunar exosphere
The operational time of the module on the lunar surface is limited to one lunar day, but it could last longer.
Sources:
- Space.com: https://spacenews.com/astrobotic-completes-peregrine-testing/
- NASA Spaceflight: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/01/clps/
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