First U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rockets toward the moon — but suffers early glitch
The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rocketed toward the moon Monday, launching private companies on a space race to make deliveries for NASA.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The first U.S. lunar lander in more than 50 years rocketed into space Monday, but encountered a problem shortly after launch that may prevent it from reaching the moon.
The spacecraft, developed by a private company called Astrobotic Technology, lifted off at 2:18 a.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on the United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket.
After safely separating from its booster, the lander encountered an issue likely caused by a propulsion failure that prevented it from “achieving a stable sun-pointing orientation” to charge its onboard battery, the company said in an update.
The lander is on a roundabout route to the moon, with the company aiming to touch down on the lunar surface Feb. 23.
Not long after publicizing the anomaly, the company said it performed an unspecified, “improvised maneuver” to reorient the spacecraft’s solar panels to face the sun.
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