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Artists concept of Israeli Beresheet lunar probe firing thrusters
for moon landing slated for April 11, 2019. Credit: SpaceIL/IAI |
Ken Kremer — SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM – 11 April
2019
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL- Israeli’s first ever mission to
the moon – Beresheet – is on course to complete a thrilling first of its kind
lunar touchdown later today, Thursday, April 11, that also counts as the first
ever commercial mission to land on the Moon.
The Beresheet
mission marks a historic achievement for Israel- becoming only the seventh
country to send a probe into lunar orbit- and for commercial space activities as
this tiny probe is the first privately funded mission to reach the Moon.
After a 7 week mission from the Earth to the Moon, Beresheet
is all set for the do or die moon landing attempt.
We will have a full story post landing as I simultaneously
cover tonights SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch.
You can watch the landing coverage live here:
Live on SpaceIL’s
Youtube channel:
IAI’s Facebook pages
Here is the landing schedule from SpaceIL:
Beresheet’s planned landing time today is: 10:25 pm Israel time (3:25 pm
ET)
The landing process will start at 10:05 pm Israel time (3:05 pm ET)
The live broadcast will begin at 9:45 pm Israel time (2:45 pm ET)
Watch my live on set interview at i24 after lunar capture
last week:
Video Caption: Following successful
lunar orbit capture maneuver by the commercial Israeli lunar lander
spacecraft Beresheet
on April 4, here’s full interview
with Ken Kremer of Space UpClose on i24 TV News live on set in Times Square NYC
with Anchor Derricke Dennis on April 5, 2019 discussing the prospects of what’s
next with the difficult moon landing and what it means for future exploration of
the Moon by Israel and potential cooperation with NASA and other entities. Beresheet
landing is slated for April 11. It launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on
21 Feb. 2019 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL. Credit: i24
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Artists concept of Israeli Beresheet lunar probe after
completing moon landing slated for April 11, 2019. Credit: SpaceIL/IAI |
of the private
Beresheet moon lander for Israel atop a recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took place in the
evening of Feb.
21 at 8:45 p.m. EST (0145 GMT Friday) from Space
Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.
It flew as a rideshare payload bolted to the primary payload
– namely the
Nusantara Satu communications satellite for Indonesia.
The Beresheet lunar lander is a joint endeavor
funded and built by Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries
(IAI). It marks Israel’s first lunar mission and also counts as being the
world’s first privately funded lunar mission.
If all continues to go well lunar touchdown is scheduled for April
11 at Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity) on the Moon’s
northern hemisphere on the upper right side as seen from Earth.
Liftoff
of the private
Beresheet moon lander for Israel atop a recycled SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took place in the
evening of Feb.
21 at 8:45 p.m. EST (0145 GMT Friday) from Space
Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.
It flew as a rideshare payload bolted to the primary payload
– namely the
Nusantara Satu communications satellite for Indonesia
Watch my launch video here:
lander and Indonesian Nusantara Satu comsat roars to life Feb. 21, 2019, 8:45 p.m. ET from Space Launch Complex-40
on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida – as seen in this video camera stationed at pad. Credit: Ken
Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
planning and preparations, Israel is finally set to land on the moon’” said
Space IL after completing the last orbit adjustment maneuvers.
“SpaceIL and IAI have
been working all night on last calculations after the successful maneuver
yesterday evening.”
To date only three countries have successfully
landed on the Moon- the US, Russia and China and those were all government run
missions.
million as the world’s first privately funded and developed moon lander.
Hebrew means “genesis” or “in the beginning” was one of the competitors for the
now defunct Google Lunar XPrize.
trajectory to begin a series of 4 elongating long looping orbits to gradually
reach the moon.
continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin,
Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from the Kennedy Space
Center, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Wallops Flight Facility,
Virginia.
Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer
– email: ken at kenkremer.com
KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about
space topics.
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