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This morning, SpaceIL, together with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), announced that the first Israeli spacecraft to land on the moon, "Beresheet", would be launched Friday morning. After a seven-week trip, the probe is expected to land on the moon in April.
This is the first time that such a small country sends a spaceship to the moon and that such an enterprise is not a government project, but a mission whose mission is to found an organization in non-profit. The countries that have so far posed a spaceship on the moon are the United States, the Soviet Union and China.
Bereshit was originally scheduled to land on the moon on Feb. 13, but the launch was postponed due to constraints imposed by launch company SpaceX. At a press conference held this morning, SpaceIL chairman Morris Kahn revealed that the current launch date was also threatened due to the closure of the US government, which made it difficult obtaining the transfer permit for the spacecraft in Cape Canaveral, Florida, from where it will be launched.
"Eight years ago, we ventured into this journey that ends now in about two months when we landed on the moon. We are creating a story and are proud to be part of a group that has dreamed and realized the vision of many countries of the world. We presented the Beresheet project as a gift to the Israeli President, where he was declared a national project. I could not be more proud than to make this gift to the Israeli people and make it part of Israel's philosophy of technology, audacity and a generous dose of nerve, "said Kahn.
IAI Director Nimrod Sheffer said, "The cooperation with SpaceIL is an example of the incredible achievements that the State of Israel can accomplish and a symbol of the path taken by Israel since its inception. creation. More importantly, it illustrates the more noble achievements that can still be accomplished – know-how, capabilities and human capital are all there. The journey to the moon is fraught with difficulties, but thanks to the professionalism, determination and faith of all project partners, an Israeli spacecraft will be launched on the moon in the coming days. The IAI and our SpaceIL partners will continue to do all that is necessary to ensure the success of this mission. "
The Israeli spacecraft will be the smallest to land on the Moon: a meter and a half in height, two meters in diameter, carrying fuel representing 75% of its weight, or 600 kg. When he lands, he weighs 180 kilograms.
The spacecraft is also unique because of its low redundancy – it does not have a backup system for its various components, as is common in space missions, making it lighter and less expensive to build. It has been developed and built for a cost of only $ 100 million
The spacecraft will be launched around 3:45 am, Israel time. After 30 minutes, it will separate from the launcher and will be independent in the space. An hour after launch, the satellite will go into cruise mode and begin orbiting the earth. It will eventually enter lunar orbit and is expected to land on the moon on April 11th.
At today's press conference, it was also announced that the NASA official had gone to Israel, inspected the satellite and signed a cooperation agreement with SpaceIL by l & rsquo; Through the Israeli Space Agency. This agreement has reduced the risks for the satellite en route to the moon. NASA will allow SpaceIL to use its systems to communicate with the spacecraft. A laser telemetry retroreflector has been installed on it, which will make it easier to locate the position of the spacecraft.
Once it 's landing on the moon, the Israeli – flagged spaceship will start taking pictures of the landing site and a selfie to prove that it has indeed landed on the moon. The probe also has a scientific mission: to measure the magnetic field of the moon as part of an experiment carried out in collaboration with the Weizmann Institute.
The space shuttle carries a "time capsule" – a huge database containing hundreds of digital files, including detailed information about the NGO, the probe and the project crew, national symbols, cultural objects and equipment collected from the general public over the years. placed on the moon by the spaceship.
The time capsule will remain on the moon so that the information it contains is intended to remain there for an indefinite period, that future generations can find.
SpaceIL was founded in 2011 by three engineers: Yariv Bash, Kfir Damari and Yonatan Winetraub. Their goal was to promote science education in Israel. The construction of the spacecraft began two years later at IAI.
The non-profit organization originally hoped to win the Lunar XPRIZE offered by Google for the first lunar landing financed by private funds, and even reached the final stage, but ultimately did not respected the schedule and the competition has ended without winner. Despite this, and despite the fear that its activity will end for lack of funds, SpaceIL continued its efforts to bring Israel into the exclusive club of countries that have reached the moon.
Posted by Globes, Economic News in Israel – www.globes.co.il – 18 February 2019
© Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2019
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