/sci/ - Science & Math

Astrobotic lander arrives at launch site, SES says O3b mPower electrical issues are worse than thought
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https://spacenews.com/astrobotic-lander-arrives-at-launch-site/
> WASHINGTON — Astrobotic’s first lunar lander has arrived in Florida for final preparations for launch on Christmas Eve.
> Astrobotic announced Oct. 31 that the Peregrine lander has arrived at a payload processing facility at Cape Canaveral operated by Astrotech, after shipping last week from Astrobotic’s Pittsburgh headquarters. The lander will undergo preparations for launch on the inaugural Vulcan Centaur flight by United Launch Alliance.
> ULA announced Oct. 24 that it set a launch date of Dec. 24 for the first Vulcan Centaur, with Peregine as the primary payload. There are backup launch opportunities on Dec. 25 and 26, and again in January, a schedule ULA Chief Executive Tory Bruno said was constrained by requirements such as lighting conditions at Peregrine’s landing site and communications access.
> Peregrine is carrying 21 payloads, including several for NASA through its Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. Astrobotic received one of the first CLPS task orders in May 2019, valued at $79.5 million to carry what NASA said at the time was up to 14 payloads to the moon.
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https://spacenews.com/ses-says-o3b-mpower-electrical-issues-are-worse-than-thought/
> TAMPA, Fla. — Electrical issues disclosed a few months ago on the first four O3b mPower satellites in medium Earth orbit will significantly reduce their operational life and broadband capacity, their operator SES announced Oct. 31.
> Boeing recently disclosed $315 million of losses on a satellite contract to meet life cycle commitments for an undisclosed customer. A source close to Boeing confirmed SES is this customer.