Astrobotic is a private American company specializing in space robotics and lunar missions. As a lunar logistics provider, they design and manufacture lunar landers like Peregrine and Griffin, capable of carrying payloads to the Moon's surface. Astrobotic works with NASA through the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, as well as with other commercial and government partners, to facilitate space exploration and technology demonstration. The company aims to make space missions more accessible and affordable.
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Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One operated in cislunar space for 10 days earlier in the same year.
Astrobotic worked with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory staff to complete the DSN test campaign for Griffin’s flight avionics, ground support software, and mission operations infrastructure.
The DSN antennas in Canberra, Madrid, and Goldstone are the same suite used to communicate with Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One during its 10-day cislunar mission.
The Deep Space Network will provide the connection to enable Astrobotic staff to command GM1, receive images and scientific information from the lander, and support continuous radio communication between the spacecraft and Earth.
VIPER was originally planned to launch in late 2023 and NASA requested a launch delay in 2022 to late 2024 to allow more preflight testing of the Astrobotic lander.
Additional schedule and supply chain delays pushed VIPER’s readiness date to September 2025, and the CLPS launch aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander was delayed to a similar timeframe.
Astrobotic will continue its Griffin Mission One under its contract with NASA and is working toward a launch scheduled for no earlier than fall 2025.
The original VIPER mission budget allocated $433,500,000 for the rover and $235,600,000 for launch services to be provided by Astrobotic and SpaceX.
The Artemis program has seen both failures, such as Astrobotics, and successes, such as Intuitive Machines.
Astrobotic was selected by NASA for a Small Business Innovation Research award worth approximately $150,000 to develop an Extra Large Vertical Solar Array Technology called VSAT-XL.
VSAT-XL will incorporate engineering solutions developed by Astrobotic from its lunar landers, lunar rovers, and the 10 kW VSAT, along with Roll Out Solar Arrays (ROSA) from Redwire Space.
Astrobotic's Peregrine lander experienced a propellant leak and failed to reach the Moon in January 2023.
NASA selected Astrobotic's Griffin lander for VIPER with an additional cost of $199.5 million as part of its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
NASA is keeping its CLPS task order with Astrobotic for the Griffin lander mission despite cancelling VIPER.
Astrobotic is also free to launch commercial payloads on Griffin, including a potential prototype of the LunaGrid power delivery system.
Astrobotic’s CubeRover completed more than 150 mobility tests inside a 120-ton enclosure designed to mimic the surface of the Moon.
Astrobotic plans to unveil the fully assembled VOLT engineering unit during the Keystone Space Conference scheduled for 2024-10-28-29, 2024, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The CLPS launch of VIPER aboard Astrobotic’s Griffin lander was independently delayed to a time similar to September 2025.
Astrobotic will continue its Griffin Mission One within its contract with NASA, working toward a launch scheduled for no earlier than fall 2025.
NASA will retain its CLPS task order worth $322,000,000 for Astrobotic’s Griffin lander despite canceling VIPER.