Startups

Astrobotic’s Peregrine launch date is ‘likely’ pushed beyond Christmas Eve

The North Side-based space tech company’s lunar lander was meant to be on board ULA’s Vulcan Rocket, alongside CMU’s Iris rover. Possible new launch schedule: January.

Peregrine lunar lander at Astrobotic's Pittsburgh HQ. (TECHNICAL.LY/Atiya Irvin-Mitchell)

Astrobotic employees, Carnegie Mellon University researchers and members of the public were excited for a Peregrine lunar lander takeoff amidst tinsel and mistletoe, we have bad news.

Plans for the Dec. 24 launch to the moon have been scrapped for a date in the new year — tentatively between Jan. 8 and 11.

The North Side-based space tech company’s lunar lander was meant to be on board ULA’s Vulcan Rocket, alongside CMU’s Iris, which is the first American student-developed rover.

ULA President and CEO Tony Bruno cited issues during testing as the reason for the delay.

This isn’t the first time the Peregrine Lunar Lander has been grounded. This past spring, the company and university eyed a launch date that included a nod to “Star Wars” with a takeoff scheduled for May 4.

“If the miracle of spaceflight happens, if the rovers survive the harsh and lunar environment that test day,” CMU Mission Control Lead Nikolai Stefanov said on April 4, “and if we can train operators, we can come together as a team and [make] this final push, then simply, there’s nothing else to say other than ‘See you on the moon.’”

But ultimately, that launch would be delayed. (It wasn’t the first time.)

Despite that setback, Astrobotic still had an eventful year. In June, the company joined the Westinghouse Electronic Company in signing a Memorandum of Understanding saying they would “explore collaboration” on space technology programs for NASA and the Department of Defense. Around the same time, the company became one of many entities participating in the establishment of the Space and Defense Innovation District along with Mirasol Capital and the Carnegie Science Center.

After completing a successful flight test campaign in Mojave, California in partnership with the University of Central Florida in October 2023, the company was all set for takeoff, again.

But since Bruno says the company wants a successful dress rehearsal launch before the actual flight, Pittsburghers will have to wait until 2024 to see the Peregrine and Iris go up.

See ULA updates

In the meantime, if you’re feeling particularly eager to cheer on your local space tech scene, you can check out this Iris-branded merch:

Atiya Irvin-Mitchell is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Heinz Endowments.
Companies: Astrobotic

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

3 ways to support our work:
  • Contribute to the Journalism Fund. Charitable giving ensures our information remains free and accessible for residents to discover workforce programs and entrepreneurship pathways. This includes philanthropic grants and individual tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
  • Use our Preferred Partners. Our directory of vetted providers offers high-quality recommendations for services our readers need, and each referral supports our journalism.
  • Use our services. If you need entrepreneurs and tech leaders to buy your services, are seeking technologists to hire or want more professionals to know about your ecosystem, Technical.ly has the biggest and most engaged audience in the mid-Atlantic. We help companies tell their stories and answer big questions to meet and serve our community.
The journalism fund Preferred partners Our services
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

Trump may kill the CHIPS and Science Act. Here’s what that means for your community.

Election results: Live updates on presidential, Senate, House and PA races

A Pennsylvania voter’s guide to tech policy on the ballot in the 2024 election

14 tech community events to be thankful for in November

Technically Media