Demonstration flight of the Astrobotic Griffin lander and its engines, initially contracted for the cancelled NASA VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) mission.
The Falcon Heavy is a variant of the Falcon 9 full thrust launch vehicle and consists of a standard Falcon 9 rocket core, with two additional boosters derived from the Falcon 9 first stage.
See Detailsthe sidebooster will attempt to land at the launch site after launch.
Landing Attempt Confirmedthe sidebooster will attempt to land at the launch site after launch.
Landing Attempt ConfirmedThe center core will attempt to land on an ASDS after launch.
Landing Attempt ConfirmedSpace Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
INFO WIKIVIPER, NASA’s 500 million dollar Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, is one of the latest victims of turbulent times - with NASA announcing that they would be canceling the mission effective August 1, 2024
NASA’s VIPER lunar rover completed acoustic testing today just a week after NASA announced its intent to terminate the mission because of cost growth. Congress will have the last word […]
Much of the rover was complete and it was going through a series of testing when the project was scrapped. NASA said Astrobotic’s Griffin lander, which was supposed to carry VIPER to the Moon’s South Pole, will still proceed with its missi…
NASA will hold a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, July 17, to provide an update on a program within NASA’s Exploration Science Strategy and Integration Office. Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s webs…
Following a comprehensive internal review, NASA announced Wednesday its intent to discontinue development of its VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) project. NASA stated cost increases, delays to the launch date, and th…