A used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched an Israeli moon landeralong with an Indonesian communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida tonight (Feb. 21). After deploying its two payloads into orbit, the Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth and aced a landing (the third for this booster) on SpaceX’s drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You,” which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Liftoff occurred at 8:45 p.m. EST (0145 Feb. 22 GMT) just as the moon rose above the horizon here.
Although the primary payload for this mission was Indonesia’s satellite, named Nusantara Satu, the tiny moon lander that hitched a ride with the satellite as a secondary payload stole the show today. It became not only the first Israeli spacecraft to venture beyond Earth’s orbit, but also the first-ever privately funded moon mission.
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