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Determined to continue its run to the moon despite the $ 20 million Google Lunar XPRIZE contest last March, SpaceIL http://www.spaceil.com has announced its intention to launch its module without pilot on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Cape Canaveral Florida in mid-December
If the module reaches the Moon as scheduled on February 13, 2019, it will make history as the smallest and first unmanned spaceship funded by the private sector to land on the moon. Our mission has never been to win the prize – even though $ 20 million would have been fine, "said SpaceIL's CEO, Ido Anteby." It's about showing the next generation that everything is possible – that even our small country can push the limits of the imagination. "
On July 10, SpaceIL gave its first look inside Israel's MABAT Space website Aerospace Industries.in Yehud near the airport of Israel, where the non-profit organization collaborated with IAI for eight years to build the 1,322-pound (600-kilogram) spacecraft. [19659003] Up to now, only three world superpowers – the United States, Russia and China – have managed to obtain controlled lunar landings.
Devoid of the resources of these superpowers, SpaceIL has turned to private donors to finance the project SpaceIL was the first of 6 Google Lunar XPRIZE competitors to sign a launch contract and one of the five teams to reach the final.
About $ 88 million was invested in the development and construction of the spacecraft. SpaceIL's president, Morris Kahn, donated about $ 27 million to the effort and decided to continue even after the contest expires and has ended without any finalist. Reaches the goal.
"After eight difficult years, I am proud The spacecraft, which is in its final phase of construction and testing, will soon be on the moon," Kahn said. "I have experienced many challenges in my life, but it was the biggest challenge of all."
Kahn said that the lunar launch "will fill Israel, in its 70th year, with pride.It is a national achievement that will put us on the map of the world's space."
left to right, Aviad Shmaryahu of the Israeli Space Agency; The founders of SpaceIL, Yariv Bash and Kfir Damari; philanthropist Morris Kahn, CEO of SpaceIL, Ido Anteby; and head of IAE Ofer Doron's space division. Photo: Space IL
The craft and the journey
The design and development process of the spacecraft began in 2013, two years after Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari and Yonatan Winetraub founded SpaceIL and have entered the Google Lunar XPRIZE contest. Construction began at the IAI MABAT factory last year.
In the coming months, the Israeli spacecraft will undergo intensive checks and tests at the IAI to prove that it can withstand the conditions of launch, flight and landing, said Anteby.
The dimensions of the spacecraft are 1.5 meters) high and 2 meters (6.5 feet) in diameter. The fuel that it will transport will account for about 75% of its total weight of 600 kg. Its maximum speed will reach more than 10 kilometers per second (36,000 kilometers, or nearly 22,370 miles per hour).
Anteby said that the SpaceIL craft – carrying an Israeli flag – will disengage from the launch rocket 60,000 kilometers above sea level. (37,282 miles) and will start orbiting the Earth on elliptical orbits. Upon receipt of an order from the control room, the spacecraft will enter an elliptical orbit of higher altitude around the Earth, which will reach a point near the Moon.
At this point, he will turn on his engines and reduce his speed to allow the gravity of the moon to capture him. It will then begin to orbit around the moon, until the appropriate time to begin the landing process. This process will be executed autonomously by the ship's navigation control system.
The whole trip, from launch to landing, will last about two months
The SpaceIL module consists of taking photos and videos of the landing site and measuring the Lunar magnetic field as part of a scientific experiment. . The data will be transmitted to the IAI control room for two days following the landing.
The program has always had as a secondary objective to encourage Israeli children to choose to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics. With the help of an extensive network of volunteers, SpaceIL has already made presentations to approximately 900,000 children across the country.
For children of all countries, SpaceIL introduced its Moon Kids website in English, filled with fun interactive content about the moon and outer space
Screenshot of the site Web Moon Kids.
IAI has been a full partner in the project since its inception. Over the years, other private sector partners, government enterprises and universities have joined us, including the Weizmann Institute of Science; Israeli Space Agency; the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space; Bezeq and others
IAI CEO, Josef Weiss, said that he considered the launch of the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon as an example of the amazing capabilities that the Japanese. one can achieve in the civil space activity.
"The State of Israel, which is already firmly anchored in space in its military activity, must mobilize resources for the benefit of the civilian space, the engine of the country. innovation, technology, education and innovation in the world. "says Weiss
For more information on SpaceIL, click here.
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