Fusion Space is targeting December 1st 2024 at 20:00 GMT for the launch of LunaRock-1 and Hurricon-2 aboard a F2RE rocket from Pad 01B at the National Space Center.
This'll be the first flight of this particular first stage (B2008.0) and it will attempt a return to LZ-1 for future reuse.
LunaRock-1
This flight is the culmination of 11 months of building and testing in our effort to better understand our celestial neighbor Luna.
LunaRock-1 will be inserted into an 8000km orbit at a 45° inclination around Droo to assist our customer with the deployment of the Hurricon-2 payload.
After this, LunaRock-1 will independently spend the next 3 days maneuvering itself into a 50km 45° orbit around Luna where it will begin imaging the surface of 15 possible landing targets.
Once we've assessed the most suitable landing site, the spacecraft will perform a quick de-orbit burn that'll put it on path for a landing which will be livestreamed on YouTube.
Once on the ground, LunaRock will waste no time, and it will immediately deploy the drill to collect 5kg of Luna material for study.
After the primary mission has been completed, the ascent stage will separate and ignite a solid rocket motor that'll put the return capsule on path for a re-entry that'll put the capsule on path for a splashdown 50km offshore from the National Space Center.
LunaRock-1 Render
Mission Timeline
T-0 - Ignition
T+0:03 - Liftoff
T+0:58 - Max Q
T+2:07 - Main Engine Cutoff
T+2:15 - Second Stage Start One
T+2:25 - Stage One Boostback
T+2:36 - Fairing Separation
T+2:58 - Stage One Boostback Shutdown
T+5:00 - Stage One Entry Burn
T+5:10 -Second Engine Cutoff One
T+5:26 - Stage One Entry Burn Shutdown
T+6:55 - Stage One Landing Burn
T+7:10 - Stage One Landing at LZ-1
T+9:10 - LunaRock-1 Deployment (With Payload Shell)
T+9:30 - Hurricon-2 Deployment
LunaRock-1 & Hurricon-2 Payload Integration
Awesome