Firefly selects SpaceX for launch of lunar lander
Posted: Tue, May 25, 2021, 7:51 PM ET (2351 GMT)
Firefly Aerospace selected SpaceX to launch its first lunar lander mission. Firefly announced Thursday its Blue Ghost lunar lander will launch on a Falcon 9 in late 2023 on a mission to the Mare Crisium region of the moon. Firefly won a NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract earlier this year for the lander mission, which will carry both NASA and commercial payloads. Blue Ghost is too heavy to launch on Firefly's own Alpha rocket, requiring it to purchase a launch from another company. Five of the six lunar lander missions that have won CLPS awards to date are launching on SpaceX's Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy rockets, with only Astrobotic's Peregrine launching on ULA's Vulcan.
Firefly Aerospace selected SpaceX to launch its first lunar lander mission. Firefly announced Thursday its Blue Ghost lunar lander will launch on a Falcon 9 in late 2023 on a mission to the Mare Crisium region of the moon. Firefly won a NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) contract earlier this year for the lander mission, which will carry both NASA and commercial payloads. Blue Ghost is too heavy to launch on Firefly's own Alpha rocket, requiring it to purchase a launch from another company. Five of the six lunar lander missions that have won CLPS awards to date are launching on SpaceX's Falcon 9 or Falcon Heavy rockets, with only Astrobotic's Peregrine launching on ULA's Vulcan.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, April 3
SpaceX successfully launches 29 Starlink satellites
Spectrum News — 6:39 am ET (1039 GMT) Space Force using ‘integrated test teams’ to speed up capability delivery
Defensescoop — 6:39 am ET (1039 GMT) Space Launcher Shortages Are Poised To Persist
Aviation Week — 6:38 am ET (1038 GMT) SpaceX and OpenAI IPOs are unlikely to bring skyrocketing returns that Amazon and Apple did, as companies go public later in life and early investors cash out
The Conversation — 6:36 am ET (1036 GMT) SpaceX’s IPO could be the largest-ever public offering—what to know before investing, from experts
CNBC — 6:36 am ET (1036 GMT) |
