SpaceX delays launch of Japanese moon lander again, citing rocket issues

November 30, 2022

121

SpaceX simply stood down once more from the launch of a Japanese moon lander.

The Hakuto-R lander, which was constructed by Tokyo-based firm ispace, and NASA’s Lunar Flashlight cubesat had been scheduled to launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Area Power Station on Thursday (Dec. 1) at 3:37 a.m. EST (0837 GMT). However that is not the plan.

“After additional inspections of the launch automobile and knowledge assessment, we’re standing down from tomorrow’s launch of @ispace_inc’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1; a brand new goal launch date can be shared as soon as confirmed,” SpaceX announced via Twitter (opens in new tab) on Wednesday night.

Associated: Japanese ispace lander to carry UAE moon rover to lunar surface in 2022

It was the second such delay for the mission: It was initially purported to launch early Wednesday (Nov. 30), however SpaceX pushed things back a day “to permit for added pre-flight checkouts.”

The Falcon 9 slated to launch ispace’s Mission 1 is a veteran of 4 earlier flights. Its first stage beforehand helped loft the SES-22 communications satellite this previous June and three batches of SpaceX’s Starlink web satellites, firm representatives wrote in a description of the upcoming moon mission (opens in new tab).

Artist’s impression of ispace’s Hakuto-R lander on the moon. (Picture credit score: ispace)

Mission 1 is a take a look at flight for ispace, which needs to see how Hakuto-R performs in deep space and on the lunar floor.

After liftoff, the lander will embark on a roughly four-month journey to the moon. If Hakuto-R aces its landing on Earth’s nearest neighbor, it would make historical past; up to now, solely the space businesses of the US, China and the Soviet Union have achieved mushy landings on the lunar floor.

A profitable landing can even permit the United Arab Emirates to make some historical past of its personal; the nation’s first moon rover, a 22-pound (10 kilograms) robotic named Rashid, will deploy from Hakuto-R and research its environs for about 14 Earth days, if all goes in line with plan.

An artist's depiction of the UAE's planned moon rover seen on the lunar surface.

An artist’s depiction of the UAE’s deliberate moon rover seen on the lunar floor. (Picture credit score: MBRSC)

NASA has a stake within the upcoming flight as properly. The company’s briefcase-sized Lunar Flashlight is designed to hunt for water ice close to the moon’s south pole, the place NASA plans to construct a moon base by way of its Artemis program.

The cubesat will do its work from lunar orbit, which it would attain after a roughly three-month journey by way of deep space.

Mike Wall is the creator of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide in regards to the seek for alien life. Comply with him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).