Astrolab

We've been busy. Our FLIP rover is heading to the Moon this year. That means we're in the midst of our final test campaign in the lead up to launch. FLIP itself is a test mission. The lunar rover is testing our hardware and software on the Moon that will be used in our future rovers. That means the data from each test of FLIP here on Earth, from TVAC to vibe, is also data that goes towards our CLV-1 and FLEX rover designs. Each rover builds on the last, establishing the future of lunar mobility.

The chamber has been opened. As of this week, FLIP rover TVAC testing is complete. One step closer to the lunar surface.

With FLIP rover vibration testing completed successfully last month, let's dive into the results. The sounds you are hearing in the background of this video were designed from live sounds captured during the week and a half of vibe testing. During these tests the rover was subjected to the highest structural loads and most stressful vibration environment it will ever experience. Launch will be less stressful than what it has already survived. Health checks during and after testing show that FLIP came out the other side in pristine condition. Before tests like this, the engineering team makes approximations about what the hardware can handle. Now that they have accelerometer data, the team is correlating the structural model with the data from the test.  This will allow the engineers to conduct the final round of structural analysis to certify the rover for launch. One more step towards the launch pad and lunar surface. #VibeTesting #Astrolab #LunarRover #Engineering #Space

July 31, 1971: The Apollo 15 Lunar Roving Vehicle left piano wire mesh tire tracks on the lunar surface for the first time. #OTD 55 years ago this first drive laid the path for our fleet of rovers. Our FLIP rover will continue this legacy, creating fresh tracks in lunar regolith this year. FLIP sets the stage for our future rovers to carry Artemis era explorers and construct the infrastructure needed to thrive on the Moon. The LRV and CLV-1 vehicles represent very different missions but mark crucial moments of human presence on the Moon.

This summer, the Astrolab interns worked on hardware, testing, and software that got us closer to the Moon. You know, normal internship stuff. #NationalInternDay

Mass Properties Testing: Complete Vibration Testing: Complete Thermal Vacuum Chamber Testing: Bakeout Complete Today, FLIP is in the TVAC chamber. Later this year, FLIP will be on the Moon. 🌖

We are excited to announce the latest payload joining the FLIP rover as part of NASA’s Moon Base II mission: Silent Shield™, a cyber, intrusion detection system developed by Deloitte for space systems. As lunar assets become increasingly critical to national interests, Astrolab’s FLIP rover will demonstrate the importance of cyber resiliency on the surface after landing near the lunar south pole. #LunarEconomy #Astrolab #DeloitteUS

We're going back. On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon. Now, we're building a Moon Base to establish humanity's first outpost on the lunar surface. Our NASA Artemis missions will send humans to the Moon to live, work, and explore as we prepare to journey onward to Mars. Join us for our next giant leap.

FLIP Rover Vibration Testing: Complete Full analysis of the data to come, but all initial indications from the test are positive. Another major hurdle on the path to the launch cleared.