Watch Firefly land on the Moon! After identifying surface hazards and selecting a safe landing site, #BlueGhost landed directly over the target in Mare Crisium. A historic moment on March 2 we'll never forget. We have Moon dust on our boots! #BGM1
“Contact light, engine stop!”
Congratulations FireFly Aerospace for Blue Ghost’s Mission 1 successful Moon landing today!
It also marks a new milestone in the collaborations between NASA and private Space companies, as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
@fireflyspace
#BlueGhostMission1 #BGM1
@NASA@SpaceX
#moonlanding
#dibs!
Would you look at that view! #BlueGhost captured its first image on the Moon that embodies everything this bold, unstoppable Firefly team has worked so hard for over the last 3+ years. And we’re just getting started! Find out what's next for #BGM1 https://t.co/oEJhJu7KHx
Earth rise, Earth set, repeat! Blue Ghost's third and final lunar orbit maneuver is complete! Early this morning, our #GhostRiders performed a 16-second burn with our RCS thrusters to enter a near-circular low lunar orbit. Up next, we'll perform a 19-second Descent Orbit Insertion at our 100-km perilune to begin our descent to Blue Ghost's final destination, Mare Crisium, on March 2.
Footage below captured by Blue Ghost shortly after our second lunar orbit maneuver. More to come soon! #BGM1
Our #GhostRiders completed another lunar orbit maneuver with a 3 minute, 18 second burn early this morning. This maneuver moved the lander from a high elliptical orbit to a much lower elliptical orbit around the Moon. Shortly after the burn, Blue Ghost captured incredible footage of the Moon's far side, about 120 km above the surface.
In this orbit, the team will experience planned rolling comms blackouts as Blue Ghost goes around the far side of the Moon. When on the near side, the team will continue to downlink data and finalize the plan for our next maneuver that will get Blue Ghost even closer to the lunar surface and keep us right on track for landing on March 2. #BGM1
Goodbye Earth, hello Moon. As we look back in the rearview mirror, we're reflecting on the last 4 weeks in space. The incredible @NASA science data Blue Ghost has captured, from record-breaking GNSS signals to magnetic field measurements, is already unlocking insights for the future of space exploration.
I spy with my little lander, a Moon in the distance. Check out Blue Ghost's amazing view of Earth eclipsing the Moon as the lander travels on orbit. Our #GhostRiders can't wait to share more postcard worthy moments as we continue on our roadtrip. #BGM1
Our test team had quite the hot fire summer! Just on Lightning (Alpha's stage 2 engine), we've made incredible progress during the qualification campaign...
▪ 26 days of testing with a total run time of over 42 minutes
▪ 48 total hot fires, 4 surpassing 200 seconds; and
▪ Over 1 million revolutions on the turbopump!