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By Eric M. Johnson
SEATTLE (Reuters) – The first US spacecraft to land on the moon in the next 50 years will be an unmanned robotic lander built by Astrobotic Technology Inc and launched two years ago by United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket. announced Monday to Reuters.
Astrobotic was one of nine companies chosen in November to compete for US $ 2.6 billion in the development of small space vehicles and other technologies, as part of 20 missions to explore the lunar surface during the next decade.
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic has chosen Vulcan, developed by a joint venture of Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp, to launch its Peregrine lander at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the summer of 2021. This launch will be the first of its kind. Vulcan's test and a major test become the backbone of ULA's defense against the rival boosters of billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX and other companies.
According to Astrobotic, Peregrine would be the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since the landing of the Apollo astronauts in 1972.
The mission will bring technology and experiments to the moon as part of a NASA program that will lay the groundwork for astronaut travel by 2024 in keeping with the upbeat schedule established by the United States. Trump administration.
"Our first Vulcan flight is also the first big step forward to return to the moon," United Launch Alliance executive director Tory Bruno told Reuters.
Astrobotic said in May that NASA had allocated $ 79.5 million for the first mission, which will carry up to 28 payloads from eight different countries, including the United States and Mexico.
Although the dollar value of the launch contract has not been revealed, it is a notable victory for the ULA flagship heavyweight rocket, which Astrobotic has chosen instead of a competing SpaceX offer.
While SpaceX has already reduced the cost of launches with its reusable rocket technology, Blue Origin of Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, whose BE-4 engines power the Vulcan, is also working on a heavy-duty booster .
MANY MOONSHOTS
NASA strives to outsource the design, development and operations related to certain space activities to private companies, as part of a strategy championed by Trump's appointed trustee, Jim Bridenstine. He wants NASA to be one of the many customers in the lunar and lowland markets to pave the way for deeper space exploration.
For ULA, the launch is the first of two certification flights for the US Air Force. Vulcan will replace the former families of Delta and Atlas rockets of ULA, synonymous with space missions for the US military for decades.
ULA and Astrobotic recognize that production problems or other factors could delay the launch schedule.
Other countries also focus on the moon. A Chinese space probe managed to land on the other side of the moon in January, although the Israeli unmanned robotic lander Beresheet crashed during its last run in April. The Indian Chandrayaan-2 rover, launched in July, was heading towards the south pole of the moon, unexplored by any other nation.
"All that humans will do on the surface of the moon will be boosted by robotic surface assets," Astrobotic Executive Director John Thornton told Reuters before the announcement scheduled for Monday.
The Astrobotic Agreement marked the second time in a week that ULA was beating SpaceX with a large contract. On Wednesday, Sierra Nevada Corp. chose Vulcan to launch its Dream Chaser space plane on cargo missions to the International Space Station, the second Vulcan launch.
(Report by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle, additional report by Joey Roulette in Washington, edited by Greg Mitchell and Cynthia Osterman)
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