American rocket launched overnight from Florida, marking the first lunar launch in 50 years
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- 50 years after the first American mission to the moon a new American rocket launching overnight from Cape Canaveral marking the first lunar launch from the U.S. since NASA's final Apollo mission. The brand new rocket "The Vulcan" is made by the private space company "United Launch Alliance" hoping to jump into in the commercial space tourism industry. But after a flawless launch, a failure in the Lander's propulsion system, depleting its propellant and most likely ending the lunar landing.
On board, were several experiments and the remains of 70 people including Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and actors from the show. Astrobotics, the company behind the lander warned the mission is still risky. "It's a quarter million of miles away, it's in the vacuum of space. You are controlling a vehicle that you can't use a joystick with from earth" said John Thornton, Astrobotics CEO.
In a statement, Astrobotics says their priority at this point is to get the most data they can from the mission so far. 2024 could be the year of the lunar lander, with 5 U.S. spacecrafts and at least one Japanese lander heading to the moon this year, with the goals of lowering the cost of moon missions, and working towards getting American tourists to the moon.
