ispace

SpaceX launched its latest payload on board a Falcon 9 rocket. Photo: SpaceXSpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched a highly anticipated payload on Sunday, which included ispace’s Hakuto-R spacecraft and NASA’s Lunar Flashlight. The rocket lifted off at 2:38 a.m. ETon December 11 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch was delayed twice before the rocket finally made it off the launch pad, delivering a precious payload on a journey towards the Moon.Packed inside the Falcon 9 rocket was a private…

A long exposure photo shows the path of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket as it launched the ispace mission on Dec. 11, 2022, with the rocket booster's return and landing visible as well.SpaceXJapanese lunar exploration company ispace began its long-anticipated first mission on Sunday, with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching the venture's lunar lander from Florida."This is the very, very beginning of a new era," ispace founder and CEO Takeshi Hakamada told CNBC.The Tokyo-based company's Mission 1 is currently on its way to the…

Falcon 9 was propped up on Pad 40 ahead of the launch.Photo: SpaceXThe launch of a Falcon 9 rocket has been delayed for the second time due to an unspecified issue, postponing a private Japanese mission that is poised to make history should it safely reach the Moon’s surface. SpaceX had originally planned to launch its rocket on Wednesday morning, but initially pushed it to Thursday to “allow for additional pre-flight checkouts.” Later on Wednesday, the company announced that it was delaying the launch indefinitely…

Tokyo-based company ispace is gearing up to make history with the kickoff of its lunar program, attempting to land the first commercial lunar lander this month and deliver government and privately-owned payloads to the surface of the Moon. Here’s what you need to know about the mission.What is the HAKUTO-R M1 lander?The Mission 1 lander (M1) is the inaugural mission to ispace’s lunar exploration program, Hakuto-R. The lunar lander is designed to provide a low-cost delivery service to the Moon, deploying payloads on the…

Tokyo-based startup ispace’s lunar ambitions will soon be put to the test, as the company gears up for its first launch at the end of this month. The startup will attempt to send its “Hakuto-R” lander to the moon’s surface, kicking off an ambitious lunar exploration program of the same name. Founded in 2010, ispace is one of many emerging companies that want to foster new markets on and around the moon; on its website, it describes its goal as becoming “a gateway for private sector companies to bring their business…