Firefly Aerospace is set to launch its Blue Ghost lunar lander with SpaceX, marking a significant step in NASA’s lunar exploration efforts.
Kennedy Space Center: So, there’s this big SpaceX launch happening overnight, and it’s a first for Firefly Aerospace. They’re sending up their Blue Ghost lunar lander as part of NASA’s plan to boost American companies for moon missions.
The Falcon 9 rocket is set to lift off at 1:11 a.m. from Launch Pad 39-A. It’s carrying Firefly’s lander along with another company’s payload, a lunar lander called Resilience, which has a rover named Tenacious. This is for a Japanese company called ispace, which is trying again after a failed landing last year.
Weather looks promising, with a 90% chance of good conditions for the launch. If there’s a delay, that drops to 60%. The first-stage booster is making its fifth flight and will try to land on a droneship in the Atlantic.
This will be the sixth launch from the Space Coast this year, all by SpaceX. Blue Origin is also gearing up to launch its New Glenn rocket soon.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost is the first mission under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. It’s set to arrive on the moon months before the ispace lander, building on the success of another Texas company, Intuitive Machines, which had a partial success with its lander earlier this year.
The Blue Ghost mission is the third CLPS mission to fly, with NASA planning to pay Firefly up to $101.5 million from a $2.6 billion budget for these missions through 2029.
NASA’s Deputy Associate Administrator, Joel Kearns, mentioned that the goals for CLPS include doing great science on the moon, testing new technologies, and developing a group of American lunar landing service providers for the Artemis program.
Artemis is NASA’s initiative to return humans to the moon and eventually Mars, but it needs robotic missions to support it.
The first CLPS mission didn’t make it to the moon due to propellant issues, and the second mission had a partial success, with the lander tipping over upon landing.
Firefly is aiming for a successful soft landing in the Mare Crisium basin on the moon. The Blue Ghost will carry 10 NASA payloads and two private ones, including experiments on moon dust and a tool to measure heat from the moon’s interior.
After launch, Blue Ghost will orbit Earth for about 22 days before heading to the moon, where it will spend two weeks in lunar orbit before landing. The plan is to operate for about two weeks before the lunar night sets in.
Firefly has been preparing extensively for this mission, learning from past attempts by other companies. The lander is designed to be stable and counteract the challenges of low gravity.
Firefly is also working on its own rocket and engine program while receiving task orders for lunar landers and rovers. They believe their strength lies in their diverse capabilities and are excited about the competition in the commercial space sector.
