"We're on the cusp of something big:" Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic set to debut mission to the moon
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A Pittsburgh-made spacecraft, years in the making, is set to make its debut mission just in time for the holidays.
Astrobotic announced its lunar lander, 'Peregrine,' will start its journey to the moon on Christmas Eve, and in the process, make history.
Peregrine Mission Director, Sharad Bhaskaran, and the rest of the team at Astrobotic are counting down to liftoff.
"There couldn't be a better Christmas present than us launching and being in space," Bhaskaran said.
After more than a decade of work, and a technical delay with the rocket in May, the Pittsburgh start-up is set to launch its first lander on the moon in just under two months.
"We have obviously high confidence now that this is going to go on schedule," Bhaskaran said.
Bhaskaran said the lander is a spacecraft that delivers payloads or science instruments to the moon to conduct science for international space agencies, NASA, and other customers like Carnegie Mellon.
"It's a delivery service to the moon," Bhaskaran said.
Peregrine will travel aboard a rocket by United Launch Alliance. It will take at least 30 days for Astrobotic's spacecraft to land.
"Once we separate from the rocket when we're in orbit, then our mission control center takes over and controls the spacecraft from there, all the way to landing and through surface operations," Bhaskaran said.
Mission control will be operated right out of the Moonshot Space Museum on Pittsburgh's North Shore.
Astrobotic hopes to be the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since the Apollo program. While another private company is now planning to launch their commercial lander in a couple of weeks, Bhaskaran remains optimistic they'll still come in first place.
On Friday, they'll pack it up in a special container, which will get loaded on a flatbed to the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. In the meantime, engineers continue to do last-minute testing.
"We're on the cusp of something big here," Bhaskaran said.
It's a big deal for the future of science in space, but also for Pittsburgh.
"Hopefully this will make Pittsburgh a space city," Bhaskaran said.
You'll be able to watch the launch and landing on a live stream.
KDKA will make sure to keep you updated with that link and details on the launch time as they become available.
