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SpaceX launched a first privately-funded moon lander aboard its rocket.
A private moon lander vehicle built by an organization of Israeli origin was successfully launched to space, Daily Mail of UK has reported. Aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the moon lander device was launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The lander device was accompanied by an Indonesian satellite and a US Air Force spacecraft as the other payloads on the rocket.
With the recent successful launch, the company has successfully completed 35 launches. The launch took place yesterday and the first-stage booster by SpaceX took the moon lander to skies and landed back safely. SpaceX used the Falcon 9 first-stage booster which is a reusable rocket booster and can be refurbished to launch the other payloads after it has landed back. The reusable boosters are in-line with the company’s vision to extend human outreach to the other planets.
Falcon 9’s first stage rocket booster launched twice last year to deliver the Iridium-7 and SAOCOM 1A payloads to orbit pic.twitter.com/z8XypvFPET
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 21, 2019
Unlike the other Fly-to-the-moon launches, this launch by SpaceX included a privately-funded lunar lander object which was developed by SpaceIL, a not-for-profit organization of Israeli origin. It would be worth mentioning that although the lander was funded by private donors, it still had the Israel Aerospace Industries and NASA involved as partners. The rocket also flew the Nusantara Satu satellite. The communication satellite would be used by Indonesia for its internet and voice communication services. The third payload on the rocket was S5, a spacecraft from the US Air Force Research Laboratory.
The third-party launch by a privately-held company points towards increasing commercialization of space ventures.
Previously, the space ventures were mostly carried out by states as they tended to indicate their space domination. SpaceX is the first private company of the world that was able to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.
Featured Image Via AP
