CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A crippling fuel leak forced a U.S. company Tuesday to abandon plans to land a spacecraft on the Moon.
Astrobotic Technology’s lander began losing fuel shortly after Monday launch, perhaps due to a ruptured tank. The spacecraft struggled to keep its solar array pointed at the sun and produce solar power, as flight controllers scrambled to salvage what they could from the mission.
“Given the propellant leak, there is unfortunately no chance of a soft landing on the Moon,” Astrobotic said in a statement.
Astrobotic was aiming for a February 23 lunar landing, following a diverted, fuel-efficient flight to the Moon. It could have been the first American moon landing in more than 50 years, and the first by a private company. A second lander from a Houston company is expected to launch next month.
Only four countries have successfully landed on the moon.
Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic said the new goal is to keep the lander operational as long as possible in space, to avoid a similar problem on its next mission in about a year. Flight controllers managed to keep the spacecraft pointed toward the sun and its battery fully charged, with another 40 hours of operations planned.
The company said a stuck valve could have caused an oxidizer tank to be flooded with high-pressure helium, causing it to burst just hours into the flight. A formal review committee of industry experts will determine the cause.
There is no indication that United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket, which launched the lander, contributed to the problem, the company added.
NASA paid Astrobotic $108 million to perform its experiments on the Moon on this mission, which is part of the agency’s commercial lunar program.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Education Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
