From the outset of space flight, engineers dreamed of reusing rocket boosters. This 1964 study, written by W. E. Ruhland and R. H. Lipp of the Chrysler Corporation’s Space Division, lists some possible methods to make that happen. Chrysler was the prime contractor for the S-IB first stage.
As a reminder, the S-IB first stage was for the smaller Saturn variant, and was the rocket that launched Apollo 7, Apollo Soyuz Test Project and as crew transportation during the Skylab program. Its booster had eight engines powered by RP-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen. It used the Saturn S-IV as its second stage, and an Apollo CSM if it were being used on a crewed mission.
NASA document listing typical Saturn IB specifications.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 roared off the launch pad at 1:11 AM EST this morning from Kennedy Space Center carrying two lunar landers into orbit and on their way to the moon.
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center on January 15, 2025.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
The second stage and lunar landers achieved their initial orbits at seven minutes and forty-nine seconds into the flight, and that orbit was modified fifty-eight minutes and twenty-four seconds later by a relatively long one minute and one second second burn by the second stage prior to payload deployment.
Around eight minutes and twenty seconds after lifting off, Booster B1085 completed its 5th mission when it touched down safely on ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions’, which was stationed offshore downrange. JRTI and B1085 will now return to Port Canaveral for offloading and preparation for B1085’s next flight.
At 2:18 AM EST, SpaceX confirmed the deployment of the Firefly Blue Ghost Lander:
Blue Ghost will begin a roughly 45-day journey to the Moon, where it will land on Mare Crisium. It will then conduct numerous experiments for NASA and the Artemis Program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface in this decade.
At 2:45 AM, SpaceX confirmed the successful deployment of the iSpace HAKUTO-R lander:
“We have established communication with the RESILIENCE lander, and have stabilized its attitude and power supply,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace. “We will make full use of the knowledge and experience gained in Mission 1 to prepare for the first orbit control maneuver scheduled in the near future. While the lander carries 6 payloads including the TENACIOUS micro rover, no deficiencies in the lander’s core system have been identified.”
The deployment of HAKUTO-R concluded the customer portion of SpaceX’s flight.
Payloads
Firefly Blue Ghost Lunar Lander
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander is designed to deliver a suite of scientific instruments and commercial payloads to the Moon’s surface. Developed under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, Blue Ghost aims to demonstrate innovative technologies while advancing lunar science.
Joining Blue Ghost is the Hakuto-R lunar lander, developed by iSpace, a Japanese company dedicated to expanding humanity’s presence on the Moon. Hakuto-R is part of iSpace’s bold vision to establish a lunar economy through cargo delivery services and resource utilization.
Artist’s rendering of HAKUTO ‘Resilience’ on the lunar surface. Credit: iSpace
Key objectives for Hakuto-R include:
Demonstrating landing and operational capabilities on the lunar surface.
Delivering payloads for commercial customers.
Advancing technologies to enable sustainable lunar operations.
Payloads
On board the RESILIENCE lunar lander will be commercial customer payloads including:
· Water electrolyzer equipment: From Takasago Thermal Engineering Co.
· Food production experiment: A self-contained module from Euglena Co.
· Deep space radiation probe: Developed by the Department of Space Science and Engineering, National Central University, Taiwan
· Commemorative alloy plate: Developed by Bandai Namco Research Institute, Inc. and modeled after “Charter of the Universal Century” from the animation Mobile Suit Gundam UC
· TENACIOUS micro rover: Developed by ispace-EUROPE, this rover will explore the landing site, collect lunar regolith, and relay data back to the lander. It will be equipped with a forward-mounted HD camera and a shovel.
· Moonhouse: A model house by Swedish artist Mikael Genberg that will be mounted on the rover.
The RESILIENCE lander will serve as a cultural artifact, carrying a UNESCO memory disk that preserves linguistic and cultural diversity.
For more details about Hakuto-R and iSpace’s ambitions, visit their official website.
iSpace infographic on the key milestones for the HAKUTO MISSION 2 ‘Resilience’ lander. Click the graphic to enlarge. Credit: iSpace
What’s Next?
iSpace announced today that mission operations specialists in the HAKUTO-R Mission Control Center in Nihonbashi, Tokyo have established a communication link with the RESILIENCE lunar lander and confirmed a stable attitude as well as stable generation of electrical power in orbit.
iSpace provided this chart illustrating the progress of the mission early this morning:
HAKUTO-R ‘RESILIENCE’ mission status as of 7:01 AM EDT on January 15. 2025
From Firefly, the Blue Ghost lander next steps are
Transit: Blue Ghost will spend approximately 45 days in transit to the Moon, including about 25 days in Earth orbit, 4 days in lunar transit, and 16 days in lunar orbit.
Descent: Blue Ghost’s final autonomous descent will take approximately an hour, starting with a Descent Orbit Insertion burn that will place Blue Ghost on its descent trajectory.
Surface Operations: Upon touchdown, Blue Ghost will operate 10 NASA instruments for a complete lunar day (about 14 Earth days).
Total Eclipse:Just before lunar night, Blue Ghost will capture HD imagery of a total eclipse from the Moon where the Earth blocks the sun.
Lunar Night: At the end of the mission, Blue Ghost will capture the lunar sunset before operating several hours into the lunar night.
Launch Replay
Next Launch
Blue Origin plans to make a second attempt to launch its New Glenn rocket on its debut mission
Date: NET January 16, 2025
Organization: Blue Origin
Mission: NG-1
Rocket: New Glenn
Launch Site: LC-36, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Window: 01:00 – 04:00 EST (0600-0900 UTC)
Payload: Blue Ring Pathfinder
Note: this article was prepared using information and text from iSpace and Firefly Aerospace.
SpaceX returns to action tonight as it plans to launch a Falcon 9 carrying two uncrewed lunar landers as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) program. The 44-minute launch window opens at 1:11 AM EST.
SpaceX rolled Falcon 9 to its launch pad at LC-39A Tuesday morning. Photo: Richard Gallagher / Florida Media Now
Tonight’s Falcon 9 Booster is B1085, which will be flying for the fifth time. After providing the initial boost for the payload, B1085 plans to touchdown on ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions’, which is positioned downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.
Weather is predicted to be 90% GO during the launch window.
The 45the Weather Squadron of Space Launch Delta 45’s Launch Mission Execution Forecast for January 15 and 16. Retrieved 12:00 PM 01/14/2024
The trajectory is typical for missions to cislunar space:
Payloads
Firefly Blue Ghost Lunar Lander
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lunar lander is designed to deliver a suite of scientific instruments and commercial payloads to the Moon’s surface. Developed under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, Blue Ghost aims to demonstrate innovative technologies while advancing lunar science.
Joining Blue Ghost is the Hakuto-R lunar lander, developed by iSpace, a Japanese company dedicated to expanding humanity’s presence on the Moon. Hakuto-R is part of iSpace’s bold vision to establish a lunar economy through cargo delivery services and resource utilization.
Artist’s rendering of HAKUTO ‘Resilience’ on the lunar surface. Credit: iSpace
Key objectives for Hakuto-R include:
Demonstrating landing and operational capabilities on the lunar surface.
Delivering payloads for commercial customers.
Advancing technologies to enable sustainable lunar operations.
For more details about Hakuto-R and iSpace’s ambitions, visit their official website.
iSpace infographic on the key milestones for the HAKUTO MISSION 2 ‘Resilience’ lander. Click the graphic to enlarge. Credit: iSpace
A SpaceX Crew Dragon on the launch pad earlier in 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Vast, the aerospace company best known for building one of the first commercial space station segments, announced today that they have secured a deal with SpaceX for two Crew Dragon missions to the International Space Station (ISS) in support of Vast’s future bid for NASA’s private astronaut missions (PAM). The missions will fly on Falcon 9 if VAST if the Vast PAM bid is accepted by the agency.
“Enabling payload and crewed missions to the ISS is a key part of Vast’s strategy, allowing us to further our collaboration with NASA and global space agencies. These missions not only strengthen our expertise in human spaceflight operations and collaboration with NASA, but also position Vast as a leading contender to deliver the next-generation successor to the ISS, advancing the future of human space exploration,” said Max Haot, Chief Executive Officer of Vast.
Artist’s rendering of the Vast Haven-1 space station Credit: VAST.
The two missions are an addition to the contract Vast has with SpaceX to launch the Haven-1 space station to low-Earth orbit followed by a subsequent Dragon mission to fly crew to the commercial space station.
“I am excited to work with Vast as they build more opportunities and destinations for more people to travel amongst the stars,” said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s President and Chief Operating Officer.
Space Florida has approved “Project Hinton” at Cape Canaveral, which will come with $1.8 billion capital investment and the creation of 600 new jobs. The vote on Wednesday was to approved up to $65 million of state funds being committed to the project.
Via: Space Florida
While Space Florida has yet to disclose the company behind this massive investment, speculation has largely centered on SpaceX, which is planning to construct a facility for its future Starship operations in Florida. SpaceX has expanded its presence at Cape Canaveral over the last decade as the company grew and its launch cadence increased to the highest, surpassing even national governments.
Starship is SpaceX’s mega-rocket in development, and plans for it to launch from Eastern Range (Kennedy Space Center plus the adjacent Cape Canaveral Space Force Station) have become visible: the FAA Environmental Impact Statement in progress for Launch Complex 39A, another Environmental Impact Statement for Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral in progress, and the recent request by NASA for wetlands determination permit for a potential construction project at SpaceX’s Launch Complex 39A — presumably the Starship facility planned for that location.
Or, it could be something else. Time will tell.
Artist’s rendering of a Starship on its launch mount at Launch Complex 39A Graphic: Creative Commons
Jared Isaacman with his children in a 2024 Polaris Dawn publicity photo. Credit: John Kraus, Polaris Program
Jared Isaacman, the billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist, and private astronaut, has been nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as the next Administrator of NASA. Isaacman, best known to the general public as the commander of both the groundbreaking Inspiration4 and Polaris Dawn space missions and the first private citizen to conduct a spacewalk, is also the CEO of the payment processing giant Shift4, a rapidly growing company that Isaacman started when he was sixteen years old.
President-elect Donald Trump’s announcement of the Isaacman nomination on Truth Social
Isaacman Reaction To The Nomination
“The future of space exploration depends on collaboration between government agencies, private companies, and international partners,” Isaacman said in a statement following the announcement of his nomination. “If confirmed, I’ll work tirelessly to ensure NASA remains at the forefront of innovation and exploration.”
Isaacman Qualifications, In Brief
Jared Isaacman exiting Crew Dragon on the Polaris Dawn flight in September of 2024. Photo: SpaceX livestream
If confirmed, Jared Isaacman would be the only NASA Administrator to have commanded a space mission and to have flown to space twice. He would also be the only NASA Administrator who has future flights in planning stages — there are three more Polaris missions slated to fly, though potential launch dates have not been released by the program.
Isaacman is also well qualified to lead the “second A” in NASA, that is, the Aeronautic side. As an aviator, Isaacman holds multiple world records for flight, including a record-breaking circumnavigation of the globe in a light jet. In 2019, Isaacman purchased a Soviet-era Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jet from the estate of Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, a plane he regularly flies himself.
The nomination will now need to be confirmed by the US Senate after it is sworn in and convenes in January 2025.
Polaris Dawn launch, with NASA Administrator nominee Jared Isaacman in command. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
The Mission 2 RESILIENCE lander arrives at KSC. Photo via ispace
Japan’s latest lunar lander and rover has arrived at Kennedy Space Center, where it will enter final preparations for a launch scheduled for no earlier than January 2025 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. Officially named the Mission 2 RESILIENCE lunar lander, the spacecraft will be carrying the TENACIOUS micro rover and commercial payloads for iSpace.
“The Mission 2 RESILIENCE lander is the culmination of the HAKUTO-R program, incorporating the data and know-how gained from Mission 1,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder & CEO of ispace. “We are pleased that the transport to the launch site in Florida, has been completed successfully. The lander is carrying not only the payload entrusted to us by our customers, but also the excitement of many stakeholders. We will continue to make final preparations until the day of the launch, when the lander, which carries so many hopes, will be launched.”
The Mission 2 RESILIENCE lander being prepared for shipment at a JAXA facility prior to being sent to the US. Photo via ispace
Mission 2 Resilience is a privately funded lunar mission, with Sumitomo Bank and other investors footing the bill. It will deliver six payloads to the lunar surface. The mission will include the first experiment to attempt electrolysis on the Moon and the Tenacious rover, which will collect regolith samples to sell to NASA. It will also drop off an art project, a figure shaped like a little red house.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation has named “Venture Moon” by Sumitomo Mutsui Bank, official partner, (SMBC). According to ispace, “The word “venture” is emblematic of new beginnings and opportunity. With the support of SMBC, ispace, aims to develop the new cislunar economy connecting the Earth and the Moon and expanding human existence into space.”
Artist’s rendering of Mission 2 Resilience in lunar orbit. Graphic via iSpace
NASA and SpaceX have updated their plans for spacecraft-to-spacecraft propellant transfer development. Currently, the company and the agency are working on developing fuel transfer hardware, and the first ship-to-ship test is scheduled for next year.
This is a major milestone in developing a lunar lander for the Artemis program. SpaceX’s Starship will serve as the primary Human Landing System (HLS) in the American-led campaign to return to the moon since 1972. To function as an HLS, a starship will need to be able to refuel in orbit before going to the Moon and landing upon it.
NASA rendering of a SpaceX Starship HLS lunar lander on the surface of the moon.
Credit: NASA
SpaceX launched the latest resupply mission for the International Space Station this evening from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff was at 9:29 PM EDT into skies that cleared just in time for the launch.
Around eight minutes and a half minutes after launching roughly ten miles away, Falcon 9 Booster B1083 completed its fifth mission successfully when it touched down at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This marked the 46th landing at LZ-1 and the 365th Falcon booster landing all-time.
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifting off from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center to start the CRS-2 SpX-31 mission. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
At roughly the same time, the second stage of Falcon 9 achieved orbit and at 9:48 PM the Cargo Dragon was released to continue under its own power towards ISS. A successful nose-cone deployment marked the end of the launch phase of the CRS-2 SpX-31 mission.
SpaceX noted on X.com after the launch that this mission was their 400th successful Falcon launch.
Cargo Dragon will now continue towards the International Space Station, where it is expected to dock autonomously to the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module at 10:15 AMtomorrow (Tuesday, November 5).
Launch Replay
By The Numbers
109th SpaceX launch this year
19th launch from LC-39A this year
37th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch
186th orbital launch attempt from LC-39A, all-time
245th launch from KSC, all-time
Falcon 9’s first stage put on a display in the Florida skies while the second stage (bottom) continued towards orbit. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Next Launch
SpaceX is scheduled to launch Starlink 6-77 and another set of Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 tomorrow afternoon from Space Launch Complex 40. This is the second attempt to launch this mission — the first attempt was scrubbed with less than three minutes to go in the countdown due to a helium issue.
Date: NET November 5, 2024
Organization: SpaceX / NASA
Mission: Starlink 6-77
Rocket: Falcon 9
Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral
Launch Window: 3:39 – 7:39 PM EST
Payload: Starlink satellites
Keep in mind that launch dates and times change often. Launch attempts can be scrubbed anytime due to weather, technical reasons, or range conditions.
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