In the early morning of January 8, local time in the United States, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan carrier rocket was successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center, carrying the Peregrine lunar lander of Astrobotic. However, about 7 hours after launch, the lander suffered a critical fuel leak failure and the flight attitude was expected to spiral out of control within 40 hours, eventually losing power due to the depletion of solar battery energy. The news came as a deep shock to the global space community, as it meant that the first U.S. launch of a privately-owned lunar spacecraft would end in failure.
Photographer: Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich
It is reported that the "Peregrine Falcon" carries a total of five scientific instrument payloads from NASA, which are important instruments for lunar exploration and are of great significance for in-depth understanding of the geological structure and chemical composition of the moon. However, these instrument loads are at risk of getting out of control due to lander failure.
The contract between Aerospace Robotics and NASA for this mission is worth up to 10.8 billion US dollars. Both NASA and NAS Robotics expressed deep regret over the failure of the launch. NASA administrators said they will continue to support private sector efforts to explore space and hope to successfully complete more challenging missions in the future.
According to expert analysis, the failure of the "Peregrine Falcon" to leak fuel may be caused by the strong vibrations generated during the launch of the rocket. During a rocket launch, the lander undergoes a series of vibrations and accelerations that can cause cracks in the fuel pipes or seal failures, triggering fuel leaks.
The launch failure was not only a major blow to NAS and NASA, but also a wake-up call to the global space community. In the field of space exploration, safety is always a top priority. While pursuing scientific and technological innovation and breakthroughs, we must fully consider all kinds of risks and problems that may arise, and take corresponding measures to prevent and solve them.
For the development of future space exploration, experts pointed out that it is necessary to further strengthen technology research and development and testing to improve the reliability and safety of spacecraft. At the same time, space agencies and private enterprises of various countries should strengthen cooperation and exchanges to jointly promote the development of space exploration.
The failure of the Peregrine Falcon launch has also triggered people's thinking about the commercialization of space exploration. As the private sector moves deeper into space exploration, the trend towards commercialization is becoming more pronounced. However, how to ensure the safety and quality of spacecraft in the process of commercialization is still an issue that needs to be paid attention to and solved. Regulators and international organizations should also strengthen the regulation and regulation of commercial space exploration to ensure its sustainable development.
In short, the failure of the launch of the U.S. private enterprise lunar lander Peregrine Falcon was a painful setback. However, mankind's passion and pursuit of space exploration will not be extinguished by this. In the future of space exploration, space agencies and private enterprises of various countries should further strengthen technology research and development, cooperation and exchanges, and jointly promote the development of space exploration. At the same time, we should also learn from this failure, strengthen the safety and quality supervision of spacecraft, and ensure the sustainable development of space exploration.