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Firefly Aerospace announced the successful completion of environmental testing for its Blue Ghost lunar lander, marking a significant milestone ahead of its maiden mission to the Moon under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The lander is scheduled to ship to Cape Canaveral, Florida, in mid-December for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a six-day launch window by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 26, 2024
Firefly Aerospace announced the successful completion of environmental testing for its Blue Ghost lunar lander, marking a significant milestone ahead of its maiden mission to the Moon under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The lander is scheduled to ship to Cape Canaveral, Florida, in mid-December for launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with a six-day launch window opening in mid-January 2025.
"Blue Ghost aced environmental testing and proved the lander is performing 100% as expected, which is a testament to the incredible Firefly team," said Jason Kim, CEO at Firefly Aerospace. "This team has gone above and beyond with innovative testing approaches to ensure Blue Ghost is flight ready. While we know there will be more challenges ahead, I'm confident this team has what it takes to softly touch down on the lunar surface and nail this mission."
The environmental testing, completed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in mid-October, subjected the lander to conditions simulating its journey and operations on the Moon. Using a thermal vacuum chamber equipped with a solar simulator, the tests replicated the extreme temperatures the lander will face during transit and on the lunar surface. Additional testing verified the lander's resilience to vibration, acoustic, and electromagnetic environments.
"With additional time in our schedule, we shipped Blue Ghost back to Firefly's spacecraft facility in north Austin, Texas, where it has remained until we received the go to ship to the Cape," said Jana Spruce, Vice President of Spacecraft at Firefly Aerospace. "In the meantime, the Firefly team has utilized this extra time to further conduct mission simulations and prep the team as we get ready to begin our first of many road trips to the Moon."
After launch and vehicle separation, Blue Ghost will undertake a 45-day journey to the Moon, providing time for comprehensive system health checks and payload preparation. The lander will touch down in Mare Crisium to operate payloads for a full lunar day (14 Earth days). These payloads, part of NASA's CLPS initiative, will perform a range of scientific and technological experiments, including subsurface drilling, sample collection, and studies on lunar dust mitigation. Some demonstrations, such as X-ray imaging of Earth's magnetic field, aim to enhance understanding of space weather effects on Earth.
At the end of the lunar day, Blue Ghost will capture the sunset on the Moon and provide data on how lunar regolith reacts to solar influences during dusk. The lander is designed to operate several hours into the lunar night, extending the mission's scientific output.
Blue Ghost Mission 1, titled Ghost Riders in the Sky, is the first of three Firefly task orders supporting NASA's Artemis campaign. This approximately 60-day mission will be managed from Firefly's Mission Operations Center in Cedar Park, Texas, and represents a key step toward advancing the commercial lunar economy and establishing a sustainable lunar presence.
For more details on Ghost Riders in the Sky, visit fireflyspace.com/missions/blue-ghost-mission-1/.
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