[ad_1]
U.S. aeronautics company Astrobotic Technology said a fuel leak gives its lunar lander “no chance” of becoming the first U.S. spacecraft in more than 50 years to land on the moon.
Trouble began soon after the aircraft launched Monday from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Peregrine was supposed to arrive on the moon’s surface Feb. 23. But Astrobotic said Monday “a critical loss of power” threatened to render the unit helpless by Wednesday.
A recalculation early Tuesday afternoon indicated the lander still had 40 hours of stored power, but would fall far short of its lofty goal. The company earlier succeeded in temporarily positioning its lander toward the sun to charge its battery with energy collected by a solar panel. But with no propellent left, the moon lander is fighting a losing battle.
The Pittsburgh-based technology said on X it suspects “a valve between the helium pressurant and the oxidizer failed to reseal” causing the latter to rupture.
The ship still had enough propellant to operate as a rocket Tuesday and is gathering useful information for a planned 2024 project.
“The team continues to work to find ways to extend Peregrine’s operational life,” Astrobotic said. “We continue receiving valuable data and proving spaceflight operations for components and software relating to our next lunar lander mission, Griffin.”
Astrobotic hoped to be the first private company in the country to make a moon landing. A Houston-based organization will try to accomplish that feat next month.
With News Wire Services
[ad_2]
Source link
