Several hours following the picture perfect launch of Astrobotic’s Lunar Lander aboard ULA’s new Vulcan rocket, reports began surfacing of power issues aboard the spacecraft.
Astrobotic, the manufacturer of the Peregrine lander issued a series of statements on “X” today indicating they were working a low power problem related to the orientation of the crafts solar panels toward the sun. After seemingly rectifying the issue, Astrobotic issued another statement stating they had discovered a possibly related propellant leak that may jeopardize the mission. While they have not officially called the mission a loss yet, Astrobotic did not sound hopeful that the mission could be salvaged on the fourth update.
A 5th update issued at 4:23 PM indicates that they now have full power on the Peregrine lander and are reassessing their data.
The company is expected to issue updates later today.
