The report suggests that the crash was about 100 km north of the center of Atlas crater. The location depends on the angle of descent and is calculated for a vertical fall. This should help LRO find it.
Thank you @NASAMoon and LRO Team for following our mission and sharing our lander’s location on the Moon.We have been conducting a thorough analysis of the flight data received during M1’s operation and will announce the results on May 26th. Stay tuned for updates.
ispace is hosting a debriefing press conference on Mission 1, with CEO Takeshi Hakamada:
ispace CTO Ryo Ujiie explains that there "was a huge gap" of 3 kilometers between the estimated and measured altitude of the lander
Ujiie shows a slide from ispace's M1 flight data, and the differences between the measured and estimated altitude during the landing attempt:
The white lines show the path of ispace's lander during the attempt:
ispace’s targeted landing site for Mission 1 is represented by the red dot, while the black circle shows where it crashed. The company came very, very close to fully succeeding on its inaugural lunar mission.
Hakamada on Mission 1's impact on the company's finances, with "no impact on the sales contracts" for missions 2 & 3:
An interesting note here: ispace says Mission 1 was insured, with liability coverage from Mitsui Sumitomo that represented "the world's first lunar insurance"
Hakuto-R crashed while landing on the Moon April 25. The craft's fault diagnosis logic incorrectly decided its altimeter was wrong, because it wasn't expecting the sudden change in measured altitude above the ground when passing over a crater. While the original landing site was not in a crater, the landing location was changed late in the project to be in a crater. Simulations that might have exposed the incorrect fault diagnosis were not run for the new landing site. The craft thought it was still close to the ground, but was really 5 km above the landing site. So, it descended slowly until it ran out of fuel, and then fell 5 km to crash. The crash represented a failure in fault management. The technical factors leading to this situation can mostly be traced back to inadequate design for redundancy of a key sensor, and failure to plan for what happened if it failed or was declared failed. With only 1 way to measure the crucial altitude, there was no way to cross check the reading, so it was too easily classified as failed. The threshold for failure classification by high rate of change was not appropriate when craters were present. No one checked if the threshold would be exceeded when flying over a crater edge to land there. Once the altimeter was ignored, apparently inertial navigation was used as the backup. Using what the craft thought was the last "good" value for altitude (meaning, before reaching the crater) meant that it was wrong by 5 km. Unfortunately, inertial navigation accuracy drifts quickly without the altitude measurement, and also cannot recover from a bad estimate at any point, without correction by realistic altitude estimates. In control system terms, the system became unobservable, and control of the landing would eventually fail without observability. Almost any landing was doomed without a real measure of altitude, but especially so once such a huge error was made. Alternative altitude estimates could and should have been used. For instance, another sensor. Or, using cruise missile technology, matching against pictures to determine the position over the surface, and available lunar topographic maps to estimate the altitude at that location. A separate video going into more depth on fault management is also available on the same YouTube channel, "Fault management overview (emphasizing aerospace)."
Assembly, integration, and testing of our HAKUTO-R Mission 2 lunar lander flight model has begun at the JAXA Tsukuba Space Center (@TKSC_JAXA). (1/2)#ispace #HAKUTO_R #lunarquest
M2 will be operated using the same Series 1 model with fine-tuned software design, and early determination of landing requirements and thorough simulation planned. There are no changes to the launch schedule for M2 (scheduled 2024) and M3 (scheduled 2025) at this time. (2/2)
Having begun Mission 2 flight model Assembly, Integration and Testing, our engineers, together with our CTO Ryo Ujiie, filled this Daruma's 1st eye. Following Japanese tradition, its 2nd eye will be filled upon achieving the goal of successful AIT and launch, scheduled for 2024.
Japan’s ispace: the unruly start-up that shot for the Moon and missedThe FT delves into the events that led to the crash of the Hakuto-R lander in April and uncovers a corporate culture described by some as ‘toxic’
ispace - U.S. Announces new U.S. Headquarters, Unveils APEX 1.0 Lunar Lander, Provides Updates on Mission 328 Sep, 2023Strengthens U.S. operations, supporting American customers and enabling lunar lander and Moon exploration advancementDENVER, Colo. – ispace technologies U.S. (ispace – U.S.), an American lunar exploration company providing Earth-to-Moon transportation and infrastructure capabilities, today announced its new U.S. headquarters in Denver, Colorado, where it is currently designing and has plans to manufacture its new APEX 1.0 lunar lander for future missions.ispace – U.S.’ new headquarters establishes a central base of operations for the company to serve its American customers, including government, commercial, and academic organizations. In addition to enabling the design, manufacture, and operation of ispace – U.S’ APEX 1.0 lunar lander, which will launch from U.S. soil, the new facility positions the company as a strategic partner for a variety of American lunar exploration missions. ispace – U.S. intends to leverage ispace’s unique global presence consisting of entities in the United States, Japan, and Luxembourg to attract worldwide government and commercial customers for lunar missions.“To date, ispace has already invested over $40 million in ispace technologies U.S., which represents our strong commitment to the U.S. market,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder and CEO of ispace. “We expect this number to continue to grow as part of our strategic commitment to contribute to government missions and the creation of a cislunar ecosystem from the United States.”“Establishing a U.S. headquarters marks a pivotal new chapter in ispace – U.S.’ journey,” said Ron Garan, CEO of ispace technologies U.S. “Denver’s rich ecosystem of aerospace talent, cutting-edge research institutions, and robust infrastructure makes it the ideal home for our APEX 1.0 lander. Being just a short distance from key transportation hubs and the Denver Tech Center, we are strategically positioned to support America’s return to the Moon and beyond, primarily but not exclusively, through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Program.”New U.S. Headquarters in Denver, Coloradoispace – U.S.’ headquarters is currently staffed by more than 80 U.S. team members, with plans for exponential workforce growth, expanding to more than 100 by years’ end to support design and future production of the APEX 1.0 lander. The building and its location were carefully selected to support the company’s goal of offering Earth-to-Moon transport and infrastructure services.Highlights:● Located at 12876 E. Adam Aircraft Circle, a short distance from the Centennial and Denver International airports.● Access to Denver’s robust aerospace community, including its large pool of highly skilled engineers and technicians.APEX 1.0 Lunar Landerispace’s APEX 1.0 lander (former Series 2 lander) is one of the most capable lunar vehicles available. As the company’s next-generation lander, APEX 1.0 leverages lessons learned from its Series 1 lander on its first lunar mission in April 2023, and delivers enhanced capabilities. APEX 1.0 offers:● Increased launch flexibility: The first planned mission for APEX 1.0 intends to fly a short duration trajectory to the Moon to increase launch flexibility and mission success. This trajectory trades payload capacity for fuel, but still enables APEX 1.0 to carry up to 300 kg to the lunar surface–more than 10x the capability of the Series 1 lander. ispace will progressively increase the APEX series’ payload capacity to meet evolving customer requirements, striving to reach 500 kg of payload capacity on future missions.● Dedicated satellite bays, perfect for relay satellites to support direct-to-Earth communications in cislunar space and from the far side of the Moon.● Ability to transport orbital, stationary, and mobile payloads to polar and equatorial locations on either the near or far side of the Moon.● Advanced vibrational isolation to protect even the most sensitive payloads.● Increased structural durability, reliability, and manufacturability, enabling consistent quality and performance at scale.Mission 3 Schedule UpdatesIn 2022, ispace – U.S. joined a team led by Draper Laboratory to deliver a suite of three NASA-sponsored science payloads and numerous commercial payloads to the far-side of the Moon as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. As the lunar lander design agent on Team Draper, ispace – U.S. will leverage its APEX 1.0 lander for the CP-12 far side lunar mission.Following the transition from the Series 2 lander to the APEX 1.0 lander, the launch of Mission 3 has been rescheduled from 2025 to 2026. The updated schedule enables Team Draper and ispace – U.S. to accommodate sensitive payloads by harnessing APEX 1.0’s enhanced capabilities for Mission 3, which is targeting a technically challenging landing location on the far side of the Moon. Additionally, the updated schedule will provide ispace – U.S flexibility to absorb experienced procurement delays for some long-lead items.ispace – U.S. continues to make steady progress on Mission 3 and has completed its Mission Operations Preliminary Design Review (PDR), a milestone that marks the conclusion of all PDRs for the APEX 1.0 lander. The company anticipates completing Mission 3’s next milestone, Critical Design Review (CDR), not later than the fiscal year end of March 2024.ispace’s Updated Financial Outlook(1)Today, ispace, inc., has announced a revised full-year financial outlook based on a number of updates. The transition from the Series 2 lander to the APEX 1.0 and updated Mission 3 launch schedule has resulted in a downward revision of fiscal year March 2024 net sales to ¥3,050 million ($21.1 million), a ¥3,146 million ($21.7 million) decline from the original forecast. More than 90 percent of the decline is due to a delay in recording contracted sales of Mission 3 payload services compared to the initial forecast and carrying them forward to the next fiscal year or later. This is due to accounting treatment of cost recovery methods, under which the delay in cost generation for Mission 3 will automatically be reflected in a delay in recording sales. There is no significant change in the total amount of contracts related to Mission 3 expected as of today. Net Loss was revised upward by ¥3,385 million ($23.4 million) from the initial forecast to minus ¥4,504 million ($31.1 million). The increase is the result of extra-ordinary income due to the receipt of lunar insurance in August 2023.(1) USD amounts are converted with JPY144.84/USD, which is the internal FX rate.
https://ispace-inc.com/news-en/?p=4781Quoteispace - U.S. Announces new U.S. Headquarters, Unveils APEX 1.0 Lunar Lander, Provides Updates on Mission 328 Sep, 2023Strengthens U.S. operations, supporting American customers and enabling lunar lander and Moon exploration advancementDENVER, Colo. – ispace technologies U.S. (ispace – U.S.), an American lunar exploration company providing Earth-to-Moon transportation and infrastructure capabilities, today announced its new U.S. headquarters in Denver, Colorado, where it is currently designing and has plans to manufacture its new APEX 1.0 lunar lander for future missions.ispace – U.S.’ new headquarters establishes a central base of operations for the company to serve its American customers, including government, commercial, and academic organizations. In addition to enabling the design, manufacture, and operation of ispace – U.S’ APEX 1.0 lunar lander, which will launch from U.S. soil, the new facility positions the company as a strategic partner for a variety of American lunar exploration missions. ispace – U.S. intends to leverage ispace’s unique global presence consisting of entities in the United States, Japan, and Luxembourg to attract worldwide government and commercial customers for lunar missions.“To date, ispace has already invested over $40 million in ispace technologies U.S., which represents our strong commitment to the U.S. market,” said Takeshi Hakamada, Founder and CEO of ispace. “We expect this number to continue to grow as part of our strategic commitment to contribute to government missions and the creation of a cislunar ecosystem from the United States.”“Establishing a U.S. headquarters marks a pivotal new chapter in ispace – U.S.’ journey,” said Ron Garan, CEO of ispace technologies U.S. “Denver’s rich ecosystem of aerospace talent, cutting-edge research institutions, and robust infrastructure makes it the ideal home for our APEX 1.0 lander. Being just a short distance from key transportation hubs and the Denver Tech Center, we are strategically positioned to support America’s return to the Moon and beyond, primarily but not exclusively, through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) Program.”New U.S. Headquarters in Denver, Coloradoispace – U.S.’ headquarters is currently staffed by more than 80 U.S. team members, with plans for exponential workforce growth, expanding to more than 100 by years’ end to support design and future production of the APEX 1.0 lander. The building and its location were carefully selected to support the company’s goal of offering Earth-to-Moon transport and infrastructure services.Highlights:● Located at 12876 E. Adam Aircraft Circle, a short distance from the Centennial and Denver International airports.● Access to Denver’s robust aerospace community, including its large pool of highly skilled engineers and technicians.APEX 1.0 Lunar Landerispace’s APEX 1.0 lander (former Series 2 lander) is one of the most capable lunar vehicles available. As the company’s next-generation lander, APEX 1.0 leverages lessons learned from its Series 1 lander on its first lunar mission in April 2023, and delivers enhanced capabilities. APEX 1.0 offers:● Increased launch flexibility: The first planned mission for APEX 1.0 intends to fly a short duration trajectory to the Moon to increase launch flexibility and mission success. This trajectory trades payload capacity for fuel, but still enables APEX 1.0 to carry up to 300 kg to the lunar surface–more than 10x the capability of the Series 1 lander. ispace will progressively increase the APEX series’ payload capacity to meet evolving customer requirements, striving to reach 500 kg of payload capacity on future missions.● Dedicated satellite bays, perfect for relay satellites to support direct-to-Earth communications in cislunar space and from the far side of the Moon.● Ability to transport orbital, stationary, and mobile payloads to polar and equatorial locations on either the near or far side of the Moon.● Advanced vibrational isolation to protect even the most sensitive payloads.● Increased structural durability, reliability, and manufacturability, enabling consistent quality and performance at scale.Mission 3 Schedule UpdatesIn 2022, ispace – U.S. joined a team led by Draper Laboratory to deliver a suite of three NASA-sponsored science payloads and numerous commercial payloads to the far-side of the Moon as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program. As the lunar lander design agent on Team Draper, ispace – U.S. will leverage its APEX 1.0 lander for the CP-12 far side lunar mission.Following the transition from the Series 2 lander to the APEX 1.0 lander, the launch of Mission 3 has been rescheduled from 2025 to 2026. The updated schedule enables Team Draper and ispace – U.S. to accommodate sensitive payloads by harnessing APEX 1.0’s enhanced capabilities for Mission 3, which is targeting a technically challenging landing location on the far side of the Moon. Additionally, the updated schedule will provide ispace – U.S flexibility to absorb experienced procurement delays for some long-lead items.ispace – U.S. continues to make steady progress on Mission 3 and has completed its Mission Operations Preliminary Design Review (PDR), a milestone that marks the conclusion of all PDRs for the APEX 1.0 lander. The company anticipates completing Mission 3’s next milestone, Critical Design Review (CDR), not later than the fiscal year end of March 2024.ispace’s Updated Financial Outlook(1)Today, ispace, inc., has announced a revised full-year financial outlook based on a number of updates. The transition from the Series 2 lander to the APEX 1.0 and updated Mission 3 launch schedule has resulted in a downward revision of fiscal year March 2024 net sales to ¥3,050 million ($21.1 million), a ¥3,146 million ($21.7 million) decline from the original forecast. More than 90 percent of the decline is due to a delay in recording contracted sales of Mission 3 payload services compared to the initial forecast and carrying them forward to the next fiscal year or later. This is due to accounting treatment of cost recovery methods, under which the delay in cost generation for Mission 3 will automatically be reflected in a delay in recording sales. There is no significant change in the total amount of contracts related to Mission 3 expected as of today. Net Loss was revised upward by ¥3,385 million ($23.4 million) from the initial forecast to minus ¥4,504 million ($31.1 million). The increase is the result of extra-ordinary income due to the receipt of lunar insurance in August 2023.(1) USD amounts are converted with JPY144.84/USD, which is the internal FX rate.
Japan’s ispace: the unruly start-up that shot for the Moon and missedThe FT delves into the events that led to the crash of the Hakuto-R lander in April and uncovers a corporate culture described by some as ‘toxic’Kana Inagaki and Leo Lewis in Tokyo SEPTEMBER 7 2023
