Astrobotic Technology
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Astrobotic Technology
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace, Robotics |
| Headquarters | Pittsburgh, Pennsylanvia, USA |
| Key people |
Red Whittaker (CEO and CSO) |
| Products | Autonomous Robots Space systems Space Payloads Robotic spacecraft Telerobotics |
| Employees | <100 (May 24, 2012) |
| Website | AstroboticTech.com |
Astrobotic Technology is a privately held seed-stage company formed by Carnegie Mellon professor Red Whittaker and his associates, with the goal of winning the Google Lunar X Prize.[1] The company is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has reserved a launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle in October 2015.
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Contents
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History
The team articulated an ambitious goal from the start in 2008: they hope to be the first to land their spacecraft "Red Rover" on the Moon, using the lander, named "Artemis Lander".[2]
As of February 2011[update], both the descent stage and the lunar rover are now unnamed. Originally named "Red Rover" and "Artemis Lander," respectively,[2] Astrobotic indicated in 2011 that they were reserving naming rights, as well as selection of the planned location for the lunar landing, for their payload customers. "We have to sell a lot of payload to make the economics work, ... the customers will decide where we go."[3]
David Gump left the position of President of Astrobotic in May 2012.[4]
Commercial payload pricing
As of November 2010[update], the company had priced payload carried to the lunar surface at $700,000 per pound ($1,500,000/kg) with an additional per-payload fee of US$250,000 "to cover the cost of integration and to provide communications, power, thermal control and pointing services."[3]
As of April 2011[update], Astrobotic had raised the payload price and made a distinction between payload fixed to the lander and payload carried on the lunar rover. The revised baseline prices are $1,800,000 per kilogram ($820,000/lb) for lander payload and $2,000,000 per kilogram ($910,000/lb) for rover payload, with the additional integration fee unchanged at US$250,000 per-payload.[5] Beyond the standard inclusions of 300 Watt-hours of power, and 100 MB of data transfer, per kilogram of mass purchased, pricing has been established for the purchase of additional power or Lunar-to-Earth data transfer.[6]
Moon mission
As of February 2011[update], Astrobotic has contracted with SpaceX for a Falcon 9 launch on a lunar mission for as early as December 2013. The mission is intended to "deliver a lander, small rover and up to about 240 pounds (110 kg) of payload to the surface of the Moon."[3] A payload user's guide for researchers on preparation of their instruments was released in early March 2011.[7]
As of April 2011[update], follow-on moon missions were tentatively planned for 2015 and 2016. Both to be flown on Falcon 9 launch vehicles, with the same total mission payload as the first mission: 210 kilograms (460 lb), or 110 kilograms (240 lb) customer payload if the 100 kilograms (220 lb) rover is included on the mission. The 2015 mission is named Polar Excavator, would target the lunar south pole, and is nominally planned for July 2015. The 2016 mission will be customer driven, to a destination that will be selected by the customer, and is tentatively planned for Q3 2016.[8] By August 2011, per version 2.4 of the User's Guide, there had been two small changes to the mission manifest with the first mission now aimed for either an Apollo site or a skylight entrance to a lava tube, and the launch date has been changed to a range: December 2013 to April 2014.[6]
As of October 2011[update], Astrobotic is maintaining that they will launch to the moon in late 2014 or early 2015, still under contract to SpaceX for a Falcon 9 mission.[9] As of May 2012[update], the Astrobotic mission on the SpaceX Falcon 9 is now scheduled for October 2015.[10]
| Mission type | Lander |
|---|---|
| Satellite of | Moon |
| Carrier rocket | SpaceX Falcon 9 |
| Homepage | Astrobotic |
| Mass | 555 kilograms |
| Dimensions | 4.5 metres |
| Power | 537 watts |
| Mission type | rover |
|---|---|
| Homepage | Astrobotic |
| Mass | 100 kg |
| Dimensions | 1.5 metres |
| Power | 140 watts |
Technology development
Astrobotic is developing both a lunar lander and a rover.
The company will provide "communications, power, thermal control and pointing services" but the power, thermal control and comm on the lander is negotiable dependent on customer needs.
Specifications
Lander
- 4.5 metres (15 ft) spacecraft[3]
- 555 kilograms (1,220 lb) dry mass[6]
- 210 kilograms (460 lb) total payload mass[6]
- Power, telemetry and command
- Power: 537 watts (0.720 hp) average landed power, 1,500 watt-hours (5,400 kJ) battery pack energy storage[6]
- Communications: 10 W transmitted power over S-band with Reed-Solomon coding, CCSDS compliant, 10 kbps command uplink, 380 kbit/s telemetry/data downlink[6]
Rover
- 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) tall by 1.0 metre (3 ft 3 in) wide rover.[3]
- 100 kilograms (220 lb) rover mass[6]
- up to 110 kilograms (240 lb) rover payload mass[6]
- Endurance on the lunar surface: three months[3]
- Mobility
- 0.9 metres (2 ft 11 in) wheel base[6]
- 1.25 metres (4 ft 1 in) track width[6]
- 1.7 metres (5 ft 7 in) height[6]
- 15 centimetres per second (5.9 in/s) speed[6]
- 20 degreees maximum incline traversal[6]
- 25 centimetres (9.8 in) maximum obstacle[6]
- Power, telemetry and command
- Power: 140 watts (0.19 hp) average power, 273 watt-hours (980 kJ) battery pack energy storage[6]
- Communications: 10 W transmitted power over S-band with Reed-Solomon coding, CCSDS compliant, 10 kbps command uplink, 60 kbit/s telemetry/data downlink, redundant antennas.[6]
- Imaging
See also
References
- ^ "Astrobotic Technology and Raytheon Collaborate to Pursue Google Lunar X Prize". lunarexplorers.net. http://www.lunarexplorers.net/node/386. Retrieved 2008-02-14.
- ^ a b "Private race to the moon (and money) takes off". msnbc.com. 2008-02-22. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23278871/page/2/. Retrieved 2011-02-08. "Astrobotic: Headed by William 'Red' Whittaker of Carnegie Mellon University, the team expects their 'Artemis Lander' and 'Red Rover' spacecraft to touch down first on the moon."
- ^ a b c d e f "SpaceX Lands Contract To Fly To Moon". Aviation Week. 2011-02-08. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2011/02/08/01.xml&headline=SpaceX%20Lands%20Contract%20To%20Fly%20To%20Moon. Retrieved 2011-02-08. "Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology, a Carnegie Mellon University spin-off company, has signed a launch services contract with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) for a Falcon 9 rocket to deliver a lander, small rover and up to about 240 lb. of payload to the surface of the Moon"
- ^ Transitions for two space entrepreneurs, NewSpace Journal, 31 May 2012.
- ^ "Payloads and Services". Astrobotic Technology. http://astrobotic.net/activities/payloads-and-services/. Retrieved 2011-04-10. "The initial mission will have 110 kilograms (240 lbs) of mass available, split between the lander and the rover, as well as power and communications support. The baseline price is $1.8 million per kilogram on the lander and $2 million per kilogram on the rover, with a $250,000 integration fee per payload regardless of mass. ... Parties interested in AstroboticTM services such as noted above should download and read the AstroboticTechnologyPayloadUserGuide_v2.1"
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Lander & Rover Payload User’s Guide Version 2.4" (pdf). Astrobotic Technology. "Mission Launch Date Vehicle(s) Landing Site Payload; Moon Cruiser, Dec 2013 to April 2014, Falcon 9 / Lander / Rover, An Apollo site or skylight entrance to lava tube, 110 kg; Polar Excavator, July 2015, Falcon 9 / Lander / Rover, South Pole, 110 kg; Customer Driven, Q3 2016, Falcon 9 / Lander / [Rover], Customer Driven, 210 [110] kg; ... Actual launch dates and destinations are determined by customer demands; additional targets include lava tubes, circumnavigations, etc. Missions landing without a rover can deliver 210 kg of payload."
- ^ "Astrobotic's Mission to the Moon Releases Payload User's Guide". X Prize Foundation. 2011-03-03. http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/lunar/teams/astrobotic/blog/astrobotics-mission-to-the-moon-releases-payload-users-guide. Retrieved 2011-03-05. "“To get their sensors and experiments to the lunar surface, researchers have had to propose entire missions to space agencies such as NASA or the European Space Agency,” said David Gump, president. “This initiative allows engineers and scientists to focus on just their own instruments, with Astrobotic providing the delivery and support utilities like power and communications. They can buy just what they need from us by the pound, watt, and byte.”"
- ^ "Lander & Rover Payload User’s Guide Version 2.1" (pdf). Mission manifest. Astrobotic Technology. "Mission Launch Date Vehicle(s) Landing Site Payload Moon Cruiser December 2013 Falcon 9 / Lander / Rover An Apollo Site 110 kg Polar Excavator July 2015 Falcon 9 / Lander / Rover South Pole 110 kg Customer Driven Q3 2016 Falcon 9 / Lander / [Rover] Customer Driven 210 [110] kg ... Actual launch dates and destinations are determined by customer demands; additional targets include lava tubes, circumnavigations, etc. Missions landing without a rover can deliver 210 kg of payload."
- ^ Grush, Loren (2011-10-27). "Race to Mine the Moon Heats Up". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/27/race-to-mine-moon-heats-up/. Retrieved 2012-01-22. "planned to launch in late 2014 or early 2015"
- ^ Specner, Malia (2012-05-29). "SpaceX success brings Pittsburgh space startup closer to mission". Pittsburgh Business Times. http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2012/05/29/spacex-success-brings-pittsburgh-space.html. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
External links
- Astrobotic website
- Astrobotic Technology Payload User Guide v2.5, undated month, 2011. ("Pricing valid through December 31, 2011")
- Astrobotic Technology Payload User Guide v2.1, April 2011.
- Astrobotic Technology Payload User Guide v2.0, March 2011.
- Carnegie Mellon Lunar Rover
- Astrobotic Google Lunar X-Prize Page
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