30-05-2025
Astrobotic Xodiac rocket crashes in the Mojave, CEO says won't impact lunar landing mission
North Shore-based aerospace company Astrobotic Technology Inc.'s Xodiac rocket crashed in the Mojave Desert.
The terrestrial rocket has been used by the company for 10 years to conduct test flights. During flight 176, the vehicle detected an anomaly on descent, leading to it crashing and its ultimate destruction. No one was injured, and the test site itself is undamaged.
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'We're disappointed, but we're also not terribly surprised, and we're really proud of what this vehicle was able to accomplish over its 10-year lifetime,' CEO John Thornton said. 'For any flying vehicle, that's a pretty darn good service record, I mean, there are even cars that sometimes don't last 10 years, so it certainly did what it needed to do during its service life.'
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