(ORDO NEWS) — SpaceX delayed the launch of Japan‘s first privately owned lander, which was supposed to go to the moon as part of ispace‘s HAKUTO-R mission.
The Falcon 9 rocket launch was first pushed back to Thursday at 3:37 a.m. local time from Cape Canaveral, but SpaceX said inspections of the vehicle have resulted in another delay.
“After further launch vehicle inspections and data analysis, we are withdrawing tomorrow’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1 launch from @ispace_inc; a new target launch date will be communicated upon confirmation,” SpaceX.
This ispace mission is the first in a program called Hakuto-R. The lander will land around April 2023 on the visible side of the moon, in Atlas crater, according to the company.
The lander measuring just over 2 x 2.5 m will deliver the 10-kilogram Rashid lunar rover built by the United Arab Emirates to the lunar surface.
The delay comes after the launch had already been delayed by a day due to the need for additional pre-flight checks, SpaceX and ispace.
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