All articles tagged with #astrobotic
NASA awarded $590 million in lunar lander contracts to Astrobotic, Firefly Aerospace, and Intuitive Machines as part of the Artemis program, aiming for a crewed Moon landing at the lunar south pole by 2028. The move underscores a growing commercial lunar economy and has geopolitical heft in the U.S.–China space rivalry, with SpaceX and related space ETFs drawing investor attention alongside these private landers.
NASA awarded about $590 million to Astrobotic Technology, Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines to fly four robotic lunar lander missions in 2028, each carrying the same three payloads (SCALPSS, LETS and the Laser Retroreflector Array); Astrobotic will fly two Peregrine landers to the Gruithuisen Domes region, Firefly one Blue Ghost, and Intuitive Machines one Nova-C, with a potential later addition of PROMISE, a Mars rover–derived, RTG-powered lunar rover; the agency is also weighing logistics for Moon Base launches and has not ruled out Blue Origin’s launch options as Plan A remains to use New Glenn.
Astrobotic’s Griffin-1 lunar lander, with a 650 kg payload, is nearing environmental testing at NASA’s JPL in California after final integration in Pittsburgh; its main payload, Astrolab’s FLIP rover, is undergoing tests and will rendezvous at Cape Canaveral for final integration ahead of a late-2026 Falcon Heavy launch, marking a key milestone in Moon Base 2 planning and Peregrine’s legacy as Astrobotic advances with Voyager Technologies’ acquisition.
Astrobotic unveiled Griffin-1, a larger lunar lander for NASA's Moon Base II under CLPS, aiming for a late-2026 Falcon Heavy launch to deliver 10 payloads from six nations (including BEACON CubeRover and LandCam-X) with four NASA payloads aboard FLIP; integration at Astrobotic and JPL environmental testing are underway before Florida deployment, building on Peregrine to advance Artemis-era plans for a lunar outpost with commercial landers.
Voyager Technologies announced an agreement to acquire Astrobotic for up to $300 million, consisting of $162 million in cash and stock, plus $9 million in assumed debt and up to $129 million in milestone-based earnouts, with closing expected in July pending regulatory approvals. Astrobotic, known for its Peregrine lunar lander (which failed to achieve a landing during NASA’s CLPS mission) and the Griffin program, will continue operating from Pittsburgh as Voyager builds a comprehensive lunar-infrastructure platform. The deal aligns with NASA’s Artemis Moon-base ambitions and maintains ongoing CLPS contracts and Astrobotic’s work on lunar and suborbital technologies, including LunaGrid and reusable vehicles.
Astrobotic unveils its Chakram rotating detonation rocket engine (RDRE), showing three detonation waves that produce a spiraling exhaust flame and delivering over 4,000 pounds of thrust in tests at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, including a 300-second burn believed to be a new RDRE record. The results hint at potential uses from lunar landers to in-space propulsion.
Astrobotic’s Chakram rotating detonation rocket engine achieved a 300-second continuous burn at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, with two prototypes delivering sustained operation, stable detonation, and about 4,000+ pounds of thrust per engine, marking a key step from experimental tests toward flight-ready propulsion for lunar landers and cislunar missions.
Astrobotic tested its Chakram rotating detonation rocket engine at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, firing two prototypes to more than 4,000 pounds of thrust per engine for a combined 470 seconds of burn time across eight hot-fire tests, with no damage observed. The RDRE uses detonation shockwaves in a circular channel to boost efficiency and has potential for lunar landers and deep-space propulsion, supported by NASA SBIR awards and a Space Act Agreement; similar RDRE work is underway by Venus Aerospace and NASA.
Astrobotic has secured $17.5 million in NASA and military contracts to develop three reusable suborbital vehicles, including upgrades to its Xodiac and Xogdor models, supporting technology demonstrations, lunar and planetary landing tests, and potential national security applications, with scheduled entries into service from 2026 to 2028.
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy moon mission with Astrobotic's Griffin lander has been delayed to no earlier than July 2026, due to ongoing payload integration and testing, marking a setback for NASA's lunar exploration efforts under the CLPS program.
Astrobotic has delayed its Griffin-1 Moon lander mission to July 2026, aiming to support NASA's lunar exploration efforts with a new payload, the FLEX rover, after multiple previous delays due to technical and developmental challenges. The mission, launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy from Kennedy Space Center, is part of NASA's CLPS program to advance lunar science and exploration.
Astrobotic has delayed its Griffin-1 lunar lander mission to mid-2026, with the launch now scheduled for no earlier than July 2026, due to ongoing assembly and testing processes. The mission will carry the FLIP rover and other payloads, replacing the originally planned 2025 launch. The delay follows NASA's decision to cancel the VIPER rover's original mission, which will now be flown by Blue Origin in 2027.
NASA is evaluating the future of its VIPER lunar rover mission, which was canceled in July due to anticipated cost overruns and delays. The agency is reviewing responses to a request for information (RFI) seeking alternative uses for the nearly complete rover. Despite successful environmental tests, VIPER's launch was delayed to no earlier than September 2025 on Astrobotic's Griffin lander. NASA is considering partnerships and may propose next steps by early 2025, while Congress could potentially intervene to revive the mission.
Astrobotic and Mission Control have partnered to use Mission Control’s Spacefarer software to operate Astrobotic’s CubeRover, which will be part of Astrobotic’s next lander mission to the Moon. The software will enable semi-autonomous navigation and analysis of images taken by the rover's cameras. The partnership, stimulated by the Canadian Space Agency's Lunar Exploration Accelerator Program, aims to demonstrate the software's capabilities and open up new opportunities for Mission Control in handling spacecraft operations.
Astrobotic has hired experienced industry officials, including former NASA officials, to assist with the development of its Griffin lander following the investigation into its first lunar lander mission. The company is working to address issues from the previous mission, including a propellant leak, and is preparing to incorporate lessons learned into the development of the larger Griffin lander, which is set to deliver NASA’s VIPER lunar rover to the moon's south polar region.