How to watch SpaceX launch a private lunar lander tonight

By Georgina Torbet Published December 10, 2022

Overnight tonight, Saturday, December 11 to Sunday, December 12, SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket starting a private Japanese lander on a journey to the moon. The launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida will be livestreamed, and we’ve got the details on how you can watch below.

ispace M1 Mission

What to expect from the launch

The Falcon 9 will be carrying the ispace HAKUTO-R Mission 1, which will be deployed from the rocket around one hour after launch. The lander will then travel on to the moon, taking several months on its journey before a scheduled landing on the moon in April 2023. The aim is to create a commercial lunar lander that can carry both private and government payloads to the moon. This time, the lander will be carrying a rover called Rashid from the United Arab Emirates, as part of the UAE’s first lunar mission.

Recommended Videos

SpaceX will be launching this mission with the same rocket it launches payloads into orbit around the Earth, but in this case, the HAKUTO-R spacecraft will continue to travel away from Earth and toward the moon instead of entering orbit.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

As well as HAKUTO-R, the Falcon 9 will also be carrying a small NASA spacecraft called the Lunar Flashlight, which will orbit the moon as well. This mission aims to study the surface of the moon to detect water ice deposits around its south pole, which could be an important resource for future human explorers there.

How to watch the launch

The launch will be livestreamed by SpaceX, including the final preparations before liftoff, liftoff itself, the catching of the first stage booster, and payload separation. The launch window opens at 2:38 a.m. ET on Sunday, December 11 (11:38 p.m. PT on Saturday, December 10) with coverage beginning around 15 minutes before. If there are any issues with the launch such as inclement weather, there is a second launch opportunity early on the morning of Monday, December 12.

To watch the livestream you can either go over to SpaceX’s YouTube page for the event or use the video embedded at the top of this page.

Topics

Georgina Torbet

Space Writer

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

Space

SpaceX Crew-10 astronauts’ journey to orbit starts now (sort of)

SpaceX Crew-10 ahead of the start of their March 2024 mission.

SpaceX’s Crew-10 astronauts are set to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft on March 12. But in many ways, their journey to orbit started on Wednesday.

That’s because the four crewmembers — NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan’s Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov — have just entered quarantine at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They’ll remain there until five days before launch day, when they’ll be transferred to the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center for final mission preparations.

Space

SpaceX just launched another mission to the moon

SpaceX launches the IM-2 mission to the moon.

SpaceX has successfully launched Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander toward the moon in the IM-2 mission. Athena is scheduled to reach the lunar surface on Thursday, March 6.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the uncrewed lunar lander lifted off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:16 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Febraury 26.

Space

Watch SpaceX’s cinematic trailer for Friday’s Starship rocket launch

SpaceX's Starship rocket launching in January 2024.

SpaceX is making final preparations for the eighth flight test of its Starship megarocket on Friday.

As part of the buildup, the Elon Musk-led spaceflight company has just shared a cinematic look at the Starship’s most recent flight test, which took place in January.

nproxy.org