HAKUTO-R Mission 1 on Track for Journey to the Moon
The HAKUTO-R Mission 1 lunar lander, launched on its journey to the Moon December 11th by SpaceX, has established a stable attitude and power supply in orbit, according to ispace. It was further confirmed that there were no deficiencies in the lander’s core systems, and that initial critical operational conditions were achieved.
The Series 1 Lander used for “HAKUTO-R” Mission 1 was successfully launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 2:38 a.m., Saturday, December 11, 2022 (U.S. Eastern Time) and inserted into its scheduled orbit.By completing launch and separation, “Success 2” of the Mission 1 Milestones has been achieved. By clearing this stage, the Series 1 lander has demonstrated its ability to withstand the extreme conditions of launch, validating its design and providing information that will be used in future development. After separation from the rocket, the Mission Control Center confirmed communication with the lander. Operations to establish a stable attitude, as well as stable power generation are in progress.
HAKUTO-R Mission 1 Milestones
After separation, ispace’s Mission Control Center successfully established the following items:
Stable communications with the spacecraft.
Stable attitude of the lander.
Stable power supply in orbit.
Confirmation that there were no deficiencies in the lander’s core systems.
Confirmed the completion of initial critical operational conditions.
For Mission 1, ispace has set 10 milestones between launch and landing, and aims to achieve the success criteria established for each of these milestones. Recognizing the possibility of an anomaly during the mission, the results will be weighed and evaluated against the criteria and incorporated into future missions already in development between now and 2025. Mission 2 and Mission 3, which also will contribute to NASA’s Artemis Program, will further improve the maturity of ispace’s technology and business model.
The launch of the HAKUTO-R Mission 1 was delayed by an issue that arose with the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The launch vehicle had been transferred to the launch pad on November 30, and lander battery charging operations had been completed. However, it was decided to return the launch vehicle to a hangar for additional inspections.
If HAKUTO-R successfully lands on the Moon, it will be the first commercial spacecraft to accomplish that achievement.
(Source: ispace. Images provided and from file)