Peregrine Lander departs Astrobotic’s Pittsburgh HQ as final journey to lunar surface begins

Pittsburgh, we have departure for liftoff.

North Side-based Astrobotic Technologies Inc. has officially shipped off its Peregrine Lander as part of the spacecraft’s eventual journey to the moon. That launch is now tentatively set for the first quarter of 2023 when Peregrine will take off on board United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

“A few years ago, we were an 18-person team with a dream,” John Thornton, CEO of Astrobotic, said in a prepared statement. “Today, Astrobotic’s 200+ staff and our payload customers can celebrate as our Peregrine lander continues its historic mission to lead America back to the Moon for the first time in 50 years.”

But before it can go to the moon — or even Florida for that matter — Peregrine must be subject to acceptance testing, which goes beyond the types of simulated scenarios it experienced during its construction by Astrobotic employees in Pittsburgh. This will include testing mass properties, conducting Sine vibrations and vibro-acoustics testing, various forms of electrostatic testing as well as thermal vacuum testing with Peregrine set in its launch configuration.

Read more at Pittsburgh Business Times.

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