Latest news with #MattGialich
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
First-Ever Asteroid Mining Mission Loses Contact With Earth
Last week, California-based space company AstroForge launched what it claimed was the first "commercial deep space mission in history." The company's plan was to send its washing machine-sized spacecraft, dubbed Odin, to visit an asteroid millions of miles from Earth and scout it as a potential mining site. But mere hours after the spacecraft lifted off atop a SpaceX rocket last week — alongside Intuitive Machines' Athena lunar lander — the AstroForge team encountered issues while trying to communicate with the probe. Then, less than 24 hours following launch, the team lost contact entirely. "I think we all know the hope is fading as we continue the mission," AstroForge founder Matt Gialich admitted in an update on X-formerly-Twitter over the weekend, as flagged by "So we're going to keep our head up. We're going to keep trying over the weekend, and we'll see how far we get." A number of space companies have raised huge amounts of funds with the promise of turning errant space rocks into a lucrative source of money. But many have failed to live up to that promise, folding before even venturing into space. As the New York Times reports, AstroForge did initially make headway, sending a demonstration satellite into orbit in 2023. Its followup Odin mission, though, is looking rough. Odin made it over 186,000 miles away from home. The spacecraft did manage to unfold its solar panels and likely started charging, according to the company. But then the company ran into some "massive issues," as Gialich wrote in an extremely detailed update posted on AstroForge's website on Saturday. The team found that the polarization on Odin's antennas was "wrong" meaning that "both uplink and downlink for the first 4 hours of the mission did not work." "No commands were getting through, and also, no data was getting down," Gialich wrote. Despite sending a number of commands, "we received nothing in return." In the company's X update, Gialich said that the spacecraft may be tumbling at a "really, really slow speed." The last contact the team received from Odin was 20 hours after liftoff. But the team isn't giving up yet. "We have a plan over the weekend, and there is still a chance that we are going to be able to recover the vehicle," the founder said. "We do think we have some theories on what's going on, and if one of them is true, there is still a recovery path." Beyond Odin, AstroForge is already eyeing an asteroid landing mission, dubbed Vestri, despite the major challenges with its current probe. "We have probably the best group of investors in the world. A lot of them have doubled down on this company," Gialich said. "So regardless of the outcome of Odin, regardless if we ever talk to it again or we don't, we're going to roll these findings into the next mission." More on mining asteroids: Asteroid Mining Startup About to Launch First Mission
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Asteroid probe thought to be tumbling in space; CEO vows to try again
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – The company behind a mission to examine a nearby asteroid reports that their spacecraft is likely tumbling in space after encountering significant communication issues following liftoff. AstroForge founder and CEO Matt Gialich provided an update on the status of the Odin spacecraft via social media on Saturday. The 265-pound asteroid surveyor was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Nasa's Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, with its destination set for the asteroid known as 2022 OB5, but communication issues arose less than 24 hours after liftoff. "I want to remind everybody this was a test mission. It was built in ten months at an accelerated pace. The point of this mission was to learn, and I think we've learned a lot," Gialich said during the briefing. The Odin spacecraft was designated for a flyby mission, with future spacecraft planned to actually land on the asteroid and mine for materials. Future Of Nasa's Mega Moon Rocket Appears In Doubt Following Major Boeing Announcement It was not stated whether the issues encountered by Odin would affect a planned landing in as early as 2026, but the CEO didn't entirely rule out the possibility of reestablishing communications with the spacecraft. "We're going to keep our heads up. We're going to keep trying over the weekend, and we'll see how far we get," Gialich stated. The spacecraft is believed to be nearly 200,000 miles away from Earth and is generating power from its solar panels. "I want to tell you guys everything - the errors we made, the issues we had, all the problems we encountered, and everything that went wrong. Because I think, as a team and as a company, and as humans, that's how we get better at these missions," Gialich stated. See The Objects Humans Left Behind On The Moon AstroForge's mission has largely flown under the radar of news headlines as several lunar landers are en route to the Moon's surface, which have garnered the attention of space Aerospace is scheduled to attempt its first-ever moon landing on Sunday with its Blue Ghost lander, while Intuitive Machines will attempt its landing with IM-2 on March Machines' spacecraft was launched on the same Falcon 9 rocket as AstroForge's Odin, but, unlike the asteroid surveyor, the lunar lander has not reported any significant technical problems that would prevent a landing article source: Asteroid probe thought to be tumbling in space; CEO vows to try again
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'I think we all know that hope is fading.' Private Odin asteroid probe is tumbling in space
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The world's first private spaceraft built to visit an asteroid is slowly tumbling in space and the outlook is dire. The spacecraft, called Odin, launched atop a SpaceX rocket on Wednesday (Feb. 26) on a mission to fly by the small asteroid 2022 OB5 for AstroForge, a company that aims to eventually mine the nearby space rock. But just hours after liftoff, Astroforge hit snags with the probe. The last contact was 20 hours after launch. "I think we all know the hope is fading as we continue the mission," AstroForge founder Matt Gialich said in a video update on X early Saturday (March 1). "So we're going to keep our head up. We're going to keep trying over the weekend, and we'll see how far we get." At the time of Gialich's update Saturday morning, the Odin spacecraft was over 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) from Earth and largely following its intended trajectory. On Friday, AstroForge said the spacecraft's solar panels were generating power, with tracking data showing it at its expected position. But the probe has not sent full telemetry on its status. Gialich said AstroForge experienced challenges with ground stations designed to keep communication lines open with Odin after launch. "And I think missing our early ground stations really hurt the ability of us to fix any potential problems we had," he said. The 265-pound (120 kilograms) Odin was only designed to last 2.5 hours on its internal battery, but AstroForge received its last contact from the probe 20 hours after liftoff, boosting confidence that the spacecraft is powered. Odin is tumbling ever so slowly as it flies through space, Gialich added, confirming one theory based on observations of the spacecraft. "And when I say tumble, this is a really, really low speed tumble," Gialich said. "But in short, we don't know why and that's going to be the problem going forward." AstroForge's mission team is working through the weekend on recovery efforts, but options may be limited. "We have a plan over the weekend, and there is still a chance that we are going to be able to recover the vehicle," Gialich said. "We do think we have some theories on what's going on, and if one of them is true, there is still a recovery path." RELATED STORIES: — SpaceX rocket launches private moon lander and NASA 'trailblazer' to hunt for lunar water (video) — Space mining company AstroForge identifies asteroid target for Odin launch next month — Space mining startup AstroForge aims to launch historic asteroid-landing mission in 2025 Gialich said AstroForge will share a more detailed update on its website this weekend, followed by an in-depth analysis on the anomaly next week. Gialich founded AstroForge with the goal of mining the vast resources from asteroids for use on Earth and in space. The Odin mission is a scouting effort to fly by asteroid 2022 OB5 to record images and data that would set the stage for a landing by AstroForge's next mission, called Vestri. The company built Odin in just 10 months, Gialich said. It launched as a piggyback payload alongside the company Intuitive Machines' Athena moon lander, NASA's Lunar Trailblazer moon orbiter (which is also suffering issues after launch) and a small orbital tug demonstrator built by Epic Aerospace. Gialich stressed that AstroForge is committed to that Vestri asteroid landing mission despite the challenges facing its Odin probe. "We have probably the best group of investors in the world. A lot of them have doubled down on this company," Gialich said. "So regardless of the outcome of Odin, regardless if we ever talk to it again or we don't, we're going to roll these findings into the next mission. "And we'll see you back here in about a year when we take another stab at it."
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
'I think we all know that hope is fading.' Private Odin asteroid probe is tumbling in space
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The world's first private spaceraft built to visit an asteroid is slowly tumbling in space and the outlook is dire. The spacecraft, called Odin, launched atop a SpaceX rocket on Wednesday (Feb. 26) on a mission to fly by the small asteroid 2022 OB5 for AstroForge, a company that aims to eventually mine the nearby space rock. But just hours after liftoff, Astroforge hit snags with the probe. The last contact was 20 hours after launch. "I think we all know the hope is fading as we continue the mission," AstroForge founder Matt Gialich said in a video update on X early Saturday (March 1). "So we're going to keep our head up. We're going to keep trying over the weekend, and we'll see how far we get." At the time of Gialich's update Saturday morning, the Odin spacecraft was over 186,000 miles (300,000 kilometers) from Earth and largely following its intended trajectory. On Friday, AstroForge said the spacecraft's solar panels were generating power, with tracking data showing it at its expected position. But the probe has not sent full telemetry on its status. Gialich said AstroForge experienced challenges with ground stations designed to keep communication lines open with Odin after launch. "And I think missing our early ground stations really hurt the ability of us to fix any potential problems we had," he said. The 265-pound (120 kilograms) Odin was only designed to last 2.5 hours on its internal battery, but AstroForge received its last contact from the probe 20 hours after liftoff, boosting confidence that the spacecraft is powered. Odin is tumbling ever so slowly as it flies through space, Gialich added, confirming one theory based on observations of the spacecraft. "And when I say tumble, this is a really, really low speed tumble," Gialich said. "But in short, we don't know why and that's going to be the problem going forward." AstroForge's mission team is working through the weekend on recovery efforts, but options may be limited. "We have a plan over the weekend, and there is still a chance that we are going to be able to recover the vehicle," Gialich said. "We do think we have some theories on what's going on, and if one of them is true, there is still a recovery path." RELATED STORIES: — SpaceX rocket launches private moon lander and NASA 'trailblazer' to hunt for lunar water (video) — Space mining company AstroForge identifies asteroid target for Odin launch next month — Space mining startup AstroForge aims to launch historic asteroid-landing mission in 2025 Gialich said AstroForge will share a more detailed update on its website this weekend, followed by an in-depth analysis on the anomaly next week. Gialich founded AstroForge with the goal of mining the vast resources from asteroids for use on Earth and in space. The Odin mission is a scouting effort to fly by asteroid 2022 OB5 to record images and data that would set the stage for a landing by AstroForge's next mission, called Vestri. The company built Odin in just 10 months, Gialich said. It launched as a piggyback payload alongside the company Intuitive Machines' Athena moon lander, NASA's Lunar Trailblazer moon orbiter (which is also suffering issues after launch) and a small orbital tug demonstrator built by Epic Aerospace. Gialich stressed that AstroForge is committed to that Vestri asteroid landing mission despite the challenges facing its Odin probe. "We have probably the best group of investors in the world. A lot of them have doubled down on this company," Gialich said. "So regardless of the outcome of Odin, regardless if we ever talk to it again or we don't, we're going to roll these findings into the next mission. "And we'll see you back here in about a year when we take another stab at it."
Sky News
27-02-2025
- Science
- Sky News
Odin probe blasts off on SpaceX rocket to survey asteroid for possible mining mission
A privately-built spacecraft has embarked on an unprecedented deep space mission to scout out an asteroid's potential for mining. The probe, called Odin, was launched on a SpaceX rocket alongside a robotic moon lander that will drill for water and a lunar orbiter that will map water resources with an instrument built by the University of Oxford. The asteroid mission is a high-risk venture that heralds a new dawn of commercial exploitation of our celestial neighbours. Odin is destined for asteroid 2022 OB5 that's believed to be rich in platinum and similar metals, which are critical for electronic, medical and green technology. Matt Gialich, engineer and co-founder of startup AstroForge, told Sky News that mining the metals on Earth costs $900 an ounce (£25,000 per kg). "The problem is that on Earth we have mined all of the good sources of platinum group metals," he said. "Everything we're looking at now is thousands of meters under the Earth. It's actually very, very difficult to mine. "But we know this exists in space. We know it's readily available. For our mission, instead of going down, we want to go up." Odin will take 300 days to catch up with the asteroid one million miles from Earth. It will take close-up images of the surface to confirm it is metallic. The company then plans to land a second spacecraft on the asteroid later this year and test for platinum and other elements. If the asteroid is as rich in the metals as hoped the first mining expeditions could follow. AstroForge has developed a low-energy refining technique that it says can produce 1000kg of high-quality metal in three months. The precious cargo would then be returned to Earth. "The cost of space has gotten so much cheaper than it's ever been," said Mr Gialich. "The economics are starting to make a lot of sense. We can build and launch a really low-cost spacecraft to go take a stab at it." Scientists at the Natural History Museum in London have analysed the composition of meteorites that have fallen to Earth. Some have the weight and look of lumps of metal. Professor Sara Russell, an expert in cosmic mineralogy at the museum, told Sky News: "Metallic asteroids are rarer than stoney ones. "But they make up quite a substantial part of our collection, so we know they are out there in space. "We know they are incredibly rich in elements like platinum, cobalt and nickel. They are a fantastic resource for many metals." Mr Gialich said the time was right for rethinking the way humanity mines the resources that drive the economy. "The way we mine today is one of the most damaging processes on Earth, right?!" he said.
