VIPER
Falcon Heavy
SpaceX
Trajectory
Trajectory is not available. Check back for updates.
Mission
VIPER
- Type: Lunar Exploration
- Orbit: Lunar Orbit
- Launch Cost: $90,000,000
NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, or VIPER, is a mobile robot that will go to the South Pole of the Moon to get a close-up view of the location and concentration of water ice that could eventually be harvested to sustain human exploration on the Moon, Mars — and beyond. VIPER represents the first resource mapping mission on another celestial body.
Location
Launch Complex 39A
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Launch Complex 39A has witnessed the launch of 178 rockets, including 177 orbital launch attempts, while Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 236 rocket launches.
Rocket
SpaceX Falcon Heavy
The Falcon Heavy is a variant of the Falcon 9 full thrust launch vehicle and consists of a standard Falcon 9 rocket core, with two additional boosters derived from the Falcon 9 first stage.
Landing
Strap-On Booster Unknown FH
Booster Unknown FH last launched unknown and has seen 0 successful launches and landings. Booster serial number unknown.
Landing Zone 1 – LZ-1
LZ-1 Pad located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at the previous LC-13
Return to Launch Site – RTLS
A return to launch site usually means that after stage separation the booster flips and does a burn back towards the launch site, landing near where it initially launched from.
Strap-On Booster Unknown FH
Booster Unknown FH last launched unknown and has seen 0 successful launches and landings. Booster serial number unknown.
Landing Zone 2 – LZ-2
LZ-2 Pad located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at the previous LC-13. Directly next to LZ-1
Return to Launch Site – RTLS
A return to launch site usually means that after stage separation the booster flips and does a burn back towards the launch site, landing near where it initially launched from.
Core Unknown FH
Booster Unknown FH last launched unknown and has seen 0 successful launches and landings. Booster serial number unknown.
Unknown – N/A
Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship – ASDS
An autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform. Construction of such ships was commissioned by aerospace company SpaceX to allow for recovery of rocket first-stages at sea for high-velocity missions which do not carry enough fuel to return to the launch site after lofting spacecraft onto an orbital trajectory.
Agency
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
“Moon ice ” the future of space exploration .