Fuel leak forces US company to abandon moon landing attempt
A crippling fuel leak forced a U.S. company on Tuesday to give up on landing a spacecraft on the moon.
Astrobotic Technology’s lander began losing fuel soon after Monday’s launch, possibly because of a ruptured tank. The spacecraft had trouble keeping its solar panel pointed towards the sun and generating solar power, as flight controllers scrambled to salvage what they could of the mission.
“Given the propellant leak, there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the moon,” Astrobotic said in a statement.
Astrobotic had been targeting a lunar landing on Feb. 23, following a roundabout, fuel-efficient flight to the moon. It could have been the first U.S. moon landing in more than 50 years, and the first by a private company. A second lander from a Houston company is due to launch next month.
Only four countries have pulled off a successful moon landing.
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic said the new goal was to keep the lander operating as long as possible in space, in order to avoid a similar problem on its next mission a year or so from now. Flight controllers managed to keep the spacecraft pointed toward the sun and its battery fully charged, with another 40 hours of operations anticipated.
The company said a stuck valve may have caused high-pressure helium to flood an oxidizer tank, causing it to burst just hours into the flight. A formal review board comprised of industry experts will determine the cause.
There is no indication that United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket, which launched the lander, contributed to the problem, the company added.
NASA paid Astrobotic $108 million to fly its experiments to the moon on this mission, part of the agency’s commercial lunar program.
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A crippling fuel leak forced a U.S. company on Tuesday to give up on landing a spacecraft on the moon.
Astrobotic Technology’s lander began losing fuel soon after Monday’s launch, possibly because of a ruptured tank. The spacecraft had trouble keeping its solar panel pointed towards the sun and generating solar power, as flight controllers scrambled to salvage what they could of the mission.
“Given the propellant leak, there is, unfortunately, no chance of a soft landing on the moon,” Astrobotic said in a statement.
Astrobotic had been targeting a lunar landing on Feb. 23, following a roundabout, fuel-efficient flight to the moon. It could have been the first U.S. moon landing in more than 50 years, and the first by a private company. A second lander from a Houston company is due to launch next month.
Only four countries have pulled off a successful moon landing.
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic said the new goal was to keep the lander operating as long as possible in space, in order to avoid a similar problem on its next mission a year or so from now. Flight controllers managed to keep the spacecraft pointed toward the sun and its battery fully charged, with another 40 hours of operations anticipated.
The company said a stuck valve may have caused high-pressure helium to flood an oxidizer tank, causing it to burst just hours into the flight. A formal review board comprised of industry experts will determine the cause.
There is no indication that United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket, which launched the lander, contributed to the problem, the company added.
NASA paid Astrobotic $108 million to fly its experiments to the moon on this mission, part of the agency’s commercial lunar program.
Also, read these top stories today:
Google infringed AI patents? Google accused of infringing patents and using the tech to power AI features in Google Search, Gmail, Google Translate. Some interesting details in this article. Check it out here.
“AI isn’t going to just be for helping make Microsoft Office better”. Microsoft says AI to help researchers speed up the painstaking work required to discover new chemical compounds and materials. Dive in and see what it just did here.
An invisible TV! LG says the TV is “practically invisible when turned off”, doing away with the ugly big black screen that can ruin a room’s feng shui.
Check the future of TV here.
One more thing! We are now on WhatsApp Channels! Follow us there so you never miss any updates from the world of technology. To follow the HT Tech channel on WhatsApp, click here to join now!
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