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| Science & Technology |
| Plans detailed for first US mission to land on moon since Apollo |
| 2019-08-21 |
| [DAWN] The first American spacecraft expected to land on the moon in nearly 50 years will be a robotic moon lander built by closely held Astrobotic Technology Inc and launched in two years by United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, the companies said on Monday. Astrobotic was one of nine companies chosen in November to compete for $2.6 billion to develop small space vehicles and other technology for 20 missions to explore the lunar surface over the next decade. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic picked Vulcan, being developed by a joint venture of Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp , to launch its Peregrine lander from Florida’s Cape Canaveral in summer 2021. Barring schedule slips, Astrobotic said Peregrine would be the first American spacecraft to touch down on the moon since Apollo astronauts touched down in 1972. The mission will ferry technology and experiments to the moon under a Nasa programme that will lay the groundwork for astronaut trips by 2024 under the optimistic schedule laid out by the Trump administration. "Our first flight on Vulcan is also the first big step in going back to the moon," United Launch Alliance Chief Executive Tory Bruno said ahead of the announcement. Related: Land on the moon: 2019-05-15 Newly discovered color images offer a rare glimpse of 1950s America during its boom years Land on the moon: 2019-04-14 Israel plans new moonshot after maiden mission fails Land on the moon: 2019-02-22 Israel’s moonshot blasts off with a successful launch |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 ....Actually, a private moon landing isn't quite as cool as a rocket called 'Vulcan'. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2019-08-21 04:25 |