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SpaceX postpones the launch of the Hakuto-R lunar lander. The lunar lander was supposed to launch Thursday with a Falcon 9, but SpaceX decided to postpone it after inspection of the rocket. A new launch date has not yet been set.
Japanese space company ispace’s Hakuto-R Mission 1 was scheduled to launch from Florida on Thursday morning, but is no longer scheduled. SpaceX reports it on Twitter that the launch was delayed after “launcher inspection and data verification”. No further details on the cause of the delay are provided.
After further inspections of the launch vehicle and data review, we are stepping down from tomorrow’s launch of @ispace_incby HAKUTO-R Mission 1; a new target launch date will be shared once confirmed
—SpaceX (@SpazioX) December 1, 2022
This is the second time the launch of the Hakuto-R lunar lander has been postponed. SpaceX was originally supposed to launch it last Wednesday, but pushed it back by a day to perform additional pre-flight checks. The flight has now been postponed indefinitely. The company will share a new launch date as soon as it becomes known.
The Falcon 9 that was to be used to launch the first Hakuto-R mission has already been used four times for other space missions, also writes Space.com. The rocket in question was previously used to launch the SES-22 communications satellite and also launched three Starlink satellite payloads into orbit.
Mission 1 van in space it will be a test flight for the Hakuto-R lunar lander, with which the company wants to test the lunar lander. After launch, the capsule will be on its way to the moon for three to five months. Eventually, Hakuto-R has to land on the lunar surface. It would be the first time that a commercial organization has launched a lander to the moon. If successful, Hakuto-R will release a small rover from the UAE. This rover, called Rashid, is to spend two weeks driving on the lunar surface and conducting scientific research.
Bron: ispace
