Astrobotic Technology
| File:Astrobotic Technology Logo.svg | |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Key people |
|
| Products |
|
Number of employees | 130 (As of 2023[update]) |
| Website | {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}Lua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
Astrobotic Technology, Inc., commonly referred to as Astrobotic, is a privately held American firm dedicated to space robotics tailored for lunar and planetary exploration missions. Established in 2007 by Carnegie Mellon professor and entrepreneur Red Whittaker alongside partners, the enterprise initially pursued victory in the Google Lunar X Prize. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Astrobotic concentrates on creating autonomous robotic spacecraft and payload delivery platforms.
The company’s inaugural launch occurred on January 8, 2024, as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. This mission featured the deployment of Astrobotic’s Peregrine lunar lander aboard the first flight of the Vulcan Centaur rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station LC-41. Although the mission did not culminate in a successful lunar touchdown, it represented a pivotal achievement in Astrobotic’s commercial development and influence within the lunar services market.
In June 2020, NASA awarded Astrobotic a contract valued at $199.5 million to transport the VIPER rover to the Moon, with a planned landing in November 2024. However, NASA announced the cancellation of this VIPER mission in July 2024. Despite this challenge, Astrobotic continues to hold a significant position in aerospace with active contracts and strategic leadership aimed at broadening its global presence and strengthening its competitive edge in space robotics.
History
Astrobotic set out in 2007 with the ambition to become the first commercial entity to achieve a Moon landing. That same year, it completed a prototype called Red Rover and renamed its lander from Artemis Lander to Griffin.
On July 28, 2008, NASA provided funding for Astrobotic to conduct a concept study focused on techniques for moving lunar regolith. In 2009, NASA awarded over US$795,000 through Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants to support research into lunar resource prospecting, which led to the development of the Polar Excavator concept.
By October 2010, NASA had granted Astrobotic a firm-fixed-price contract worth up to US$30.1 million over five years under the Innovative Lunar Demonstrations Data (ILDD) program. An additional US$500,000 ILDD contract was secured in December 2010. In 2011, Astrobotic’s proposal exploring skylights and lava tubes was selected for Phase I funding under NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC). In April that year, the company also received a two-year Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contract valued at US$599,000 to develop a lunar gravity simulation apparatus for testing rover mobility.
John Thornton succeeded David Gump as President in May 2012. On April 30, 2014, NASA chose Astrobotic for participation in the Lunar CATALYST program via a no-funds-exchanged Space Act Agreement related to the Griffin lander; this agreement was extended through October 2017.
Astrobotic introduced a new lander model named Peregrine on June 2, 2016. Airbus Defence and Space entered into a memorandum of understanding to provide engineering assistance. In December 2016, the company postponed its launch timeline to 2019 and withdrew from the Google Lunar X Prize competition.
On November 29, 2018, Astrobotic secured a US$79.5 million contract from NASA under Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) to deliver payloads to Lacus Mortis, aiming for fourteen payloads with launches beginning in July 2021. In September 2019, UK-based Spacebit partnered with Astrobotic to deliver Asagumo, the first UK lunar rover planned for this mission.
In September 2019, John Thornton received recognition as CEO of the Year from the Pittsburgh Technology Council. In January 2021, YouTube personality MrBeast announced plans to place a digital image payload aboard the Peregrine lander through an online campaign.
The maiden flight of Vulcan Centaur carrying Peregrine was delayed from its original schedule in 2021 to 2022 due to testing delays. In November 2021, Everything Space named Astrobotic among the "World's Best Employers in the Space Industry."
In September 2022, Astrobotic acquired Masten Space Systems following bankruptcy proceedings, incorporating it as its Propulsion and Test Department and advancing development on the Broadsword engine—a 110 kN thrust aluminum engine produced via 3D printing.
Launch preparations encountered additional delays after ground system issues during Vulcan Centaur's wet dress rehearsal in December 2023 pushed back liftoff until early 2024. The Peregrine lander launched on January 8, 2024 from Florida aboard Vulcan Centaur’s inaugural flight but experienced a propellant leak that prevented lunar touchdown; ultimately, the mission concluded with controlled reentry over the Pacific Ocean on January 18.
In early 2024, Astrobotic revealed its ‘Luna Grid’ initiative designed to deliver sustainable power across the lunar surface by integrating landers and rovers equipped with Vertical Array Solar Panels.
Missions that were discontinued
- In April 2011, Astrobotic entered into an agreement with SpaceX for a Falcon 9 launch targeting a lunar north pole expedition originally scheduled for December 2013. This mission intended to deploy the Griffin lander carrying a compact rover along with approximately of payload to the Moon. The planned launch was postponed to 2015 and the mission was renamed from Polar Excavator to Icebreaker, maintaining its focus on the lunar north pole. The rover, called Polaris, was introduced in October 2012. Astrobotic continued its contract with SpaceX for a Falcon 9 launch, which was delayed again to 2016. To reduce expenses, Astrobotic collaborated with Google Lunar XPRIZE contenders Team Hakuto and Team AngelicvM to launch their rovers collectively on a single Falcon 9 v1.1 using the Griffin lander. After touchdown, the teams would compete to achieve prize goals. Nevertheless, the Griffin lander never materialized, leading to the cancellation of the Icebreaker mission.
- The autonomous rover MoonRanger was developed through a US$5.6 million NASA contract awarded jointly to Astrobotic and Carnegie Mellon University on July 1, 2019, under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. It was planned for deployment aboard Masten Mission One’s XL-1 lunar lander. Designed to transport scientific payloads from other collaborators, MoonRanger aimed to autonomously map lunar polar regions in three dimensions over a one-week period, searching for water ice and cave entrances. However, after Masten Space Systems filed for bankruptcy in 2022, Masten Mission One was canceled, eliminating the flight opportunity for MoonRanger.
Peregrine Mission One
Astrobotic Technology developed Peregrine Mission One as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. It launched on January 8, 2024, aboard a Vulcan Centaur rocket managed by United Launch Alliance (ULA). The lander was designed with a payload capacity of up to 90 kg and targeted the Gruithuisen Gamma landing site.
For later missions, payload capacity plans increased: Mission Two aimed for up to 175 kg, while Missions Three and beyond were projected to carry as much as 265 kg. Unfortunately, Peregrine Mission One did not manage to leave its initial highly elliptical Earth orbit and failed to complete a lunar landing. The mission ended with a controlled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere on January 18, 2024.
Despite not achieving its primary goal, this mission represented a pivotal milestone in Astrobotic’s strategy to gain presence in the commercial lunar payload delivery sector.
Griffin Mission One
The Griffin lander is planned to arrive at the Moon’s south pole region in September 2025 and operate for approximately 100 days. Initially, NASA’s VIPER rover (weighing 450 kg) was set as the main payload to explore permanently shadowed craters seeking water ice deposits vital for future human missions. However, VIPER was canceled in 2024 due to budget overruns and schedule delays. In response to challenges experienced with the Peregrine lander, Astrobotic recruited several seasoned industry experts in March 2024 to bolster Griffin’s development.
Although VIPER has been discontinued, Griffin’s mission continues by incorporating alternative commercial payloads such as the Lunar Codex's Polaris archive preserving contemporary culture under Astrobotic’s MoonBox program. NASA intends to substitute VIPER with Astrolab's FLIP rover aboard Griffin and pursue VIPER’s scientific objectives through other forthcoming lunar missions. Components from the VIPER rover will be reused in future projects, illustrating NASA’s strategic pivot towards cost-effective exploration while maintaining commitment to mission success.
Griffin Mission Two
The launch of Griffin Mission Two is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.
CubeRover
CubeRover is a modular planetary rover platform designed to streamline space exploration by providing standardized, interoperable, and affordable units, inspired by the widely adopted CubeSat concept. This initiative, developed by Astrobotic Technology in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University and partially supported by NASA funding, is overseen by principal investigator Andrew Horchler.
A related rover named Iris, developed by students at CMU, was intended for lunar deployment on Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander; however, it was lost during reentry and never reached the lunar surface. CubeRover plays a key role in Astrobotic’s strategic approach to broaden its range of lunar mobility products, enhancing its competitiveness and technological leadership through NASA partnerships and cutting-edge innovations.
See also
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Pages with broken file links
- Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2023
- Articles with invalid date parameter in template
- All articles containing potentially dated statements
- Private spaceflight companies
- American companies established in 2008
- Aerospace companies of the United States
- Engineering companies of the United States
- Google Lunar X Prize
- 2023 in spaceflight
- Companies based in Pittsburgh
- Commercial Lunar Payload Services
- Peregrine Payloads
- 5
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment