In a complex logistical operation, the spacecraft was flown over the weekend in a unique container in the belly of a cargo plane
Berashit, the first Israeli spacecraft to the moon of the SpaceIL association in cooperation with the Aerospace Industry left last night (Thursday) on its way to the USA from Tbilisi, in preparation for its expected launch soon.
The packing and flying of SpaceIL's spacecraft, a procedure known in the professional language as "transportation", is a complex logistical operation. In light of the sensitivity of the spacecraft itself, it must be transported in a temperature-controlled environment, in a sterile area controlled for dirt and dust (it must remain as clean as it was in the clean room where it was built). In addition, the spacecraft contains dangerous materials, which require special permits to fly and special permits to enter the US - a procedure that takes a long time with the various authorities.
Ido Antavi, CEO of SpaceIL: "After eight years of hard work, the dream is becoming a reality - we have a spacecraft. I am excited that we have reached the stage where the spacecraft is being delivered to the launch site in the USA, the first stage of its complex journey to the moon. But the peak is still ahead of us and the spacecraft and we have many more challenges on the way. The SpaceIL team and its partners in the aerospace industry, who worked day and night to bring the spacecraft on time, to the level of readiness required for launch, will continue preparations and preparations to complete the mission of landing the first Israeli spacecraft on the moon."
Eyal Shtrit, logistics and transportation manager at the Aerospace Industry: "The Aerospace Industry has a lot of experience in transporting complex systems, 80% of the company's business activity is for export and the company specializes in the subject. However, transporting the SpaceIL spacecraft is a professional and unique challenge. It is a system that is only one, there are no more spaceships, there is no backup system. The launch of the spacecraft is an event that arouses great interest internationally and of course in Israel, so the importance of the success of the transportation is critical. In light of the sensitivity, the entire process is controlled from end to end, in order to make sure that Berashit will reach the launch site successfully."
As part of the transportation procedure, the spacecraft entered a unique container, which underwent structural and engineering changes in order to fit the spacecraft. To the container of the spacecraft, two additional containers of equipment are added. Last night (Thursday) the spacecraft moved to the airport and was loaded onto a temperature-controlled cargo plane on a dedicated cargo flight. The plane made an intermediate landing in Europe and from there continued to Orlando, USA, where it is unloaded from the plane and transported by land to the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The space engineers of IAI accompanied the spacecraft on the flight and at the launch site, other engineering staff members of SpaceIL and IAI are waiting for it. At the launch site, the spacecraft will undergo a series of tests and final preparations for its assembly on SpaceX's rocket launcher, Falcon 9, until its launch in the coming weeks.
Since the establishment of SpaceIL, the mission to land an Israeli spacecraft on the moon has become an Israeli national project with educational values, funded by donors, such as: Miri and Sheldon Adelson, Sami Segol, Lynn Shusterman, Steven Grand, Sylvan Adams and more. The one who took the lead to complete the task and sees it as a mission, is the philanthropist and businessman Mr. Maurice Kahn who chose to finance a significant part of the project in the amount of approximately NIS 100 million and even serves as the president of the SpaceIL association.
The Aerospace Industry, which is Israel's home of space, has been a full partner in the project since day one. Over the years, additional partners were added from the private sector, government companies and academia. The most prominent among them: the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Israel Space Agency, the Ministry of Science, Bezeq and more. http://www.spaceil.com
2 תגובות
Days into nights, it is likely that he meant "nights like nights", but congratulations on the achievement, let's hope that the launch will be successful and that at first it will reach its destination safely.
As soon as the experts entered the project, the magic of the project disappeared.
However, at this stage it is probably not possible to start a project of this magnitude by amateurs.
No magic, but still fascinating.