Freedom, GEABSOLUTE POWERS CORRUPT ABSOLUTELY, General Election (GE15), Malaysia, Politics, polling Nov 19: Destroy Umno for the betterment of Malaysia, race, religion, Solidality, support Aliran for Justice

Share This

Showing posts with label Aerospace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aerospace. Show all posts

Thursday 11 January 2024

First US private lunar lander mission fails

The spacecraft carrying the Peregrine, a commercially built American lunar lander, may be facing a critical failure after its launch Monday. Derrick Pitts, the chief astronomer at Philadelphia's Franklin Institute, joins CBS News with details on the spacecraft's apparent fuel leak.

Damaged Peregrine moon lander beams back photo, time running out on power

An historic commercial US mission to the Moon will fail after suffering a critical loss of fuel, organizers admitted Tuesday, ending for the time being America's hopes of placing its first spacecraft on the lunar surface since the Apollo era.

Astrobotic began reporting technical malfunctions, starting with an inability to orient Peregrine's top-mounted solar panel towards the Sun © - / Astrobotic/AFP

Fixed to the top of United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan rocket, Astrobotic's Peregrine Lunar Lander blasted off Monday from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, then successfully separated from its launch vehicle.

But a few hours later, Astrobotic began reporting malfunctions, starting with an inability to orient Peregrine's solar panel towards the Sun and keep its battery topped up, owing to a propulsion glitch that also damaged the spacecraft's exterior.

The company said it had "no chance of soft landing" on the Moon.

Peregrine has about 40 hours of fuel remaining and Astrobotic said it planned to operate the spacecraft until it ran out of propellant.

NASA had paid the company more than $100 million to ship scientific hardware to a mid-latitude region of the Moon to answer questions about the surface composition and radiation in the surrounding environment, as it prepares to send astronauts back to Earth's nearest neighbor later this decade.

The United States is turning to the commercial sector to stimulate a broader lunar economy and cut costs, but Astrobotic's failure could increase scrutiny about the strategy.

Astrobotic however said it was continuing to receive valuable data to prepare for its next contracted mission, sending the Griffin lander transporting a NASA rover to the lunar south pole, later this year.

Latest commercial failure

It is the latest private company to have tried and failed to achieve a soft lunar landing.

Israel's Beresheet lander, the first attempt by a non-government entity, was destroyed on impact with the Moon in April 2019, while Japan's private Hakuto mission, operated by iSpace, crashed in April 2023.

For now, the feat has only been accomplished by a handful of national space agencies: the Soviet Union was first, in 1966, followed by the United States, which is still the only country to put people on the Moon.

China has successfully landed three times since 2013, while India was the most recent to achieve the feat on its second attempt, last year.

The next commercial attempt will be by Houston-based Intuitive Machines, which is launching in February, bound for the Moon's south pole.

In addition to its scientific instruments, Peregrine is carrying more colorful cargo on behalf of its own private clients. These include a physical Bitcoin and cremated remains and DNA, including those of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, legendary sci-fi author and scientist Arthur C. Clarke and a dog.

The Navajo Nation, America's largest Indigenous tribe, had objected to sending human remains, calling it a desecration of a sacred space. Though they were granted a last-ditch meeting with White House and NASA officials, but their misgivings failed to change matters.

2024 AFP

Related:

Thursday 19 March 2015

LIMA 2015, Malaysia's best maritime & Aerospace show so far

Impressive : Najib (centre) with (from left) Liow, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation deputy general manager Bill Ren, China Ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang, Armed Forces chief Gen Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin and China Defence Attache Senior Colonel Chen Wei looking at an aircraft carrier model at the corporation’s booth at LIMA 2015.

Najib: Best maritime show

LANGKAWI: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hailed this year’s edition of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA 2015), which sees the participation of a record-breaking 512 companies from 36 countries, as the best since its inception in 1991.

A total of 110 planes and 78 vessels are also on display.

He said the number of participating companies this year exceeded the 433 registered for the last edition two years ago.

“LIMA 2015 has seen many firsts and, with the much diverse exhibition this time around, it is the best LIMA we have ever had,” he said at the opening ceremony at the tarmac of the Langkawi International Airport here.

He said LIMA had come a long way since its inception in 1991 when he, as the defence minister then, was tasked by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to organise the first LIMA show.

Najib quipped that he had had a far more difficult task organising the first edition of LIMA than the present Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein had experienced in organising the latest edition.

“I had to build from ground zero, including ensuring that a hotel was constructed in 50 days,” he said, drawing laughter from the audience.

Najib also launched the Malaysian Aerospace Industry Blueprint (2015-2030), and signed a plaque which symbolised its launch, which focuses on the country’s aspirations to become the leading aerospace nation in South-East Asia by 2030.

Najib said Malaysia’s aerospace industry is projected to contribute RM32.5bil in revenue and provide 32,000 high-income jobs by 2030.

“Last year, the industry generated RM19bil in revenue, RM4.2bil in investment and provided over 19,500 jobs.

“To underline the Government’s commitment to this vision, the Cabinet recently approved the establishment of the National Aerospace Coordinating Agency.”

The agency will be tasked with implementing the blueprint and will become the new secretariat for the Malaysian Aerospace Council, he said.

Najib also said that in 2013 alone, the shipbuilding and ship repair industry recorded a turnover of RM8.36bil.

Also present during the opening ceremony were Dr Mahathir, Cabinet ministers, including Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and other dignitaries.

Female PLA pilots put up memorable aerobatic show



LANGKAWI: All eyes were on China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aerobatic team when the all-female pilots of the republic’s air force performed stunts in their Chengdu J-10 fighter jets here.

In the spotlight: (from left) Xiali, Yu Xu, Yifei and Jiali taking a break under the shade on the tarmac at LIMA 2015.

The four women were excited to take part in the world-famous aerospace and maritime venue of Langkawi.

Yu Xu, Tao Jiali, He Xiaoli and Sheng Yifei, all 28, promised that they would give a memorable show to the audience.

He said LIMA was a good platform for them to learn from the pilots from other countries.

“It’s an eye-opening experience for us,” she said in an interview yesterday.

The four pilots are part of PLA air force’s August First aerobatic team. Langkawi is the second of their overseas show after Moscow’s International Aviation and Space Salon in 2013. It is also the four pilots’ maiden flight overseas.

China has deployed seven J-10 jets to LIMA 2015.

Having joined the air force in 2005, Yu, Tao, He and Sheng have accumulated more than 800 hours of flight experience.

“We train hard for our performance and flying the fighter jets requires us to be extremely fit,” Yu said.

“Being women, we have to put in more effort and go the extra mile in our physical training to be able to withstand the stress on our bodies.”

“The stunts in aerobatic display are highly challenging and risky. We have to be precise and calm when executing the moves.”

The Star/Asia News Network

Related:



Video for Lima 2015 cctv chinaChina's first female J-10 pilots make overseas debut - CCTV ...

Four female fighter pilots from China pose for photos in Langkawi, Malaysia on Mar 17, 2015. (Xinhua/Zhang Wenzong) 【1】【2】【3】【4】【5】【6】【7】【8】【9】【10】【11】【12】 Female fighter  pilots claim their half of sky