SpaceX launches 2 lunar landers on path to the Moon
SpaceX has successfully completed the 100th launch of a Falcon rocket from pad 39A and sent two landers on their way to the Moon.
The mission, launched at 0611 UTC on January 15, 2025, also featured a successful landing of the Falcon 9 first stage on the Just Read The Instructions droneship. Texas-based Firefly Aerospace and Japan's iSpace will be fervently hoping they too can stick the landing – on the Moon's surface – with their respective craft.
Firefly Aerospace confirmed it had received a signal from its Blue Ghost lander shortly after it was deployed in space. The craft is carrying ten science and technology instruments as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. It will take Blue Ghost approximately 45 days to reach lunar orbit, after which its engineers will attempt a smooth descent to the surface.
The landing process will take just over an hour measuring from the time the lander performs the first descent burn until the shock-absorbing legs of Blue Ghost make a touchdown.
