Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Israel Flying to Moon After SpaceX Launch
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
February 22, 2019

Share

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — An Israeli spacecraft rocketed toward the moon for the country’s first attempted lunar landing, following a launch Thursday night by SpaceX.

“We thought it’s about time for a change, and we want to get little Israel all the way to the moon.” — Yonatan Winetraub, co-founder of Israel’s SpaceIL , a nonprofit organization
A communications satellite for Indonesia was the main cargo aboard the Falcon 9 rocket, which illuminated the sky as it took flight. But Israel’s privately funded lunar lander — a first not just for Israel but commercial space — generated the buzz.
Israel seeks to become only the fourth country to successfully land on the moon, after Russia, the U.S. and China. The spacecraft — called Beresheet, Hebrew for Genesis or “In The Beginning” — will take nearly two months to reach the moon.
“We thought it’s about time for a change, and we want to get little Israel all the way to the moon,” said Yonatan Winetraub, co-founder of Israel’s SpaceIL , a nonprofit organization behind the effort.
The moon, nearly full and glowing brightly, beckoned as it rose in the eastern sky. Within an hour after liftoff, Beresheet was already sending back data and had successfully deployed its landing legs, according to SpaceIL.
“We’ll keep analyzing the data, but bottom line is we entered the very exclusive group of countries that have launched a spacecraft to the moon,” said Yigal Harel, head of SpaceIL’s spacecraft program.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was watching the launch live from the Israeli control center in Yehud, near Tel Aviv.

Soviet Union First to Put Spacecraft on the Moon

“This is a big step for Israel, but a giant step for Israeli technology,” he said.
The four-legged Beresheet, barely the size of a washing machine, will circle Earth in ever bigger loops until it’s captured by lunar gravity and goes into orbit around the moon. Touchdown would be April 11 at the Sea of Serenity.

“This is a big step for Israel, but a giant step for Israeli technology.” — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
NASA’s Apollo missions in the 1960s and 1970s took about three days to get astronauts to the moon, but they used monstrous Saturn V rockets. The $100 million Beresheet mission couldn’t afford its own rocket — even a little one — so the organizers opted for a ride share. That makes for a much longer trip; the moon right now is nearly 230,000 miles away.
“This is Uber-style space exploration, so we’re riding shotgun on the rocket,” Winetraub explained at a news conference on the eve of launch.
The U.S. Air Force also has a small research spacecraft aboard the rocket, for a one-year mission in orbit around Earth.
The Soviet Union was the first to put a spacecraft on the moon, Luna 2, in 1959. NASA followed with the Ranger 4 spacecraft in 1962. Last month, China became the first country to land on the far side of the moon.
Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin quickly offered congratulations following Thursday’s launch. So did NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, who called it “a historic step for all nations and commercial space as we look to extend our collaborations beyond low-Earth orbit and on to the moon.” NASA has a laser reflector aboard Beresheet and is offering its Deep Space Network for communication.
“All the best to @TeamSpaceIL as it starts its journey tonight on a @SpaceX #Falcon9 from Florida to my old stomping ground …the moon,” Aldrin tweeted.

Lunar Surface Operations Meant to Last Two Days

The Beresheet mission originally was part of the Google Lunar XPrize competition and even made the final cut before the contest ended last year without a winner. The organizers decided to press ahead on their own, with donations from billionaires as well as schoolchildren.
Lunar surface operations are meant to last just two days. Beresheet will measure the magnetic field at the landing site, and send back data and pictures. A time capsule is aboard the lander — which includes a picture of Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died aboard space shuttle Columbia in 2003 — as well as a lunar library containing 30 million pages on a disk from the U.S.-based Arch Mission Foundation.
Ramon’s widow, Rona, was a big supporter of Beresheet; she died of cancer in December.
Following liftoff, SpaceX recovered the first-stage booster, which flew twice last year. The booster landed smoothly on an offshore ocean platform, after the hottest re-entry yet, according to SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk. Sparks from burning metal were visible in the landing video.
Musk said the booster will fly a fourth time in April, during a launch abort test of the new crew Dragon capsule. No one will be aboard.

DON'T MISS

Augillard, Douglas Lead the Way as Bulldogs Rally Past Long Beach State

DON'T MISS

Israel Strikes Without Warning in Beirut, Kills at Least 15 as Cease-Fire Sought

DON'T MISS

Trump Taps Rollins as Ag Chief in Final Cabinet Pick

DON'T MISS

Fresno State Becomes Bowl Eligible, Defeats Colorado State on Senior Night

DON'T MISS

After Fresno Visit, Newsom Announces $24.7M Taxpayer-Funded Apprenticeship Program

DON'T MISS

How Will Merced County Fund Public Safety After Measure R’s Failure?

DON'T MISS

As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023

DON'T MISS

Sacramento Region Gained People but Flubbed Economic Opportunities Over 50 Years

DON'T MISS

Nations at UN Climate Talks Agree on $300B a Year for Poor Countries in a Compromise Deal

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s Pick for Labor Secretary

UP NEXT

Nations at UN Climate Talks Agree on $300B a Year for Poor Countries in a Compromise Deal

UP NEXT

NATO Head and Trump Meet in Florida for Talks on Global Security

UP NEXT

Tulare County Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening to Kill Middle School Girls, Staff

UP NEXT

UN Expert: Myanmar’s Desperate Military Ramps Up Attacks Including Beheadings, Rapes and Torture

UP NEXT

NATO and Ukraine to Hold Emergency Talks After Russia’s Attack With New Hypersonic Missile

UP NEXT

Many in Gaza Are Eating Just Once a Day, as Hunger Spreads Amid Aid Issues

UP NEXT

Norwegian Student Arrested on Charges of Spying on US for Russia

UP NEXT

A Proposed Deal on Climate Cash at UN Summit Highlights Split Between Rich and Poor Nations

UP NEXT

Northern California Gets Record Rain and Heavy Snow. Many Have Been in the Dark for Days in Seattle

UP NEXT

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

Fresno State Becomes Bowl Eligible, Defeats Colorado State on Senior Night

11 hours ago

After Fresno Visit, Newsom Announces $24.7M Taxpayer-Funded Apprenticeship Program

13 hours ago

How Will Merced County Fund Public Safety After Measure R’s Failure?

13 hours ago

As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023

15 hours ago

Sacramento Region Gained People but Flubbed Economic Opportunities Over 50 Years

15 hours ago

Nations at UN Climate Talks Agree on $300B a Year for Poor Countries in a Compromise Deal

1 day ago

What to Know About Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Trump’s Pick for Labor Secretary

1 day ago

What to Know About Scott Turner, Trump’s Pick for Housing Secretary

1 day ago

Trump Taps Investor Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary

1 day ago

NATO Head and Trump Meet in Florida for Talks on Global Security

1 day ago

Augillard, Douglas Lead the Way as Bulldogs Rally Past Long Beach State

LONG BEACH — Amar Augillard led Fresno State with 25 points and David Douglas Jr. made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 42 seconds left as the Bull...

10 hours ago

10 hours ago

Augillard, Douglas Lead the Way as Bulldogs Rally Past Long Beach State

10 hours ago

Israel Strikes Without Warning in Beirut, Kills at Least 15 as Cease-Fire Sought

11 hours ago

Trump Taps Rollins as Ag Chief in Final Cabinet Pick

11 hours ago

Fresno State Becomes Bowl Eligible, Defeats Colorado State on Senior Night

13 hours ago

After Fresno Visit, Newsom Announces $24.7M Taxpayer-Funded Apprenticeship Program

13 hours ago

How Will Merced County Fund Public Safety After Measure R’s Failure?

15 hours ago

As Atmospheric River Soaks California, Farmworkers Await Flood Aid Promised in 2023

15 hours ago

Sacramento Region Gained People but Flubbed Economic Opportunities Over 50 Years

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend