#AstroForge CEO Matt Gialich isn’t surprised the startup failed to reach its destination on its first #asteroid mission #Odin in February: https://payloadspace.com/a-post-mission-debrief-with-astroforges-ceo/ - in fact, don’t be surprised if the next spacecraft, set to launch with Intuitive Machine’s IM-3 this fall, fails too.

Nearly every ground station experienced some kind of failure:

• Wrong configuration
• Incorrect pointing coordinates
• An unexpected loss of a power amplifier the day before our launch
• Interference from a recently built cell tower that, although not in our frequency band, created enough noise to disrupt communications
• Insufficient mid-path gain, meaning weak signals were not getting to our radio receiver
https://www.astroforge.com/updates/odint-mission-debrief

“A single one-kilometer-diameter asteroid, if it was platinum-bearing, would contain about 117,000 tons of #platinum. That’s about 680 years of global supply. You’re talking about centuries of platinum demand from a single #asteroid ”. #Odin will arrive in late 2025 after a journey of about 300 days to #2022OB5 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/23/science/astroforge-launch-asteroid-mining.html

#AstroForge launches the #Odin mission in January 2025. A third attempt is planned for late 2025. The fourth mission will focus on extracting and refining #asteroids’ metals before returning to Earth https://www.mining.com/astroforge-secures-first-ever-commercial-license-for-asteroid-mission/

#AstroForge plans to piggyback on a robotic mission to the #moon in 2024 by #IntuitiveMachines, launched * on a #SpaceX #Falcon9 rocket.
During the journey to the moon, the plan is for #Odin to be released and to venture into #DeepSpace beyond lunar orbit. Within a year the #spacecraft will fly past the #asteroid , taking pictures in the process and looking for evidence of #metal https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/science/secret-asteroid-mission-astroforge.html

* Feb 10, 2024 https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/1915

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZPy8hH86LY

#AstroForge https://graphhopper.com/maps/?point=AstroForge

Early next year, a #SpaceX rocket will be launching a #spacecraft to an #asteroid that will take about nine months to reach.
As the world transitions away from #FossilFuels and begins to rely even more heavily on #electricity , it’s going to need more #metals. Many of the #asteroids in our #SolarSystem are chock full of the metals that are needed for the #industries of the future, such as #cobalt, #nickel and #platinum-group metals.
#Astroforge thinks it can support #mining missions with over 80% margins https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2023/10/18/this-asteroid-mining-startup-is-ready-to-launch-the-first-ever-commercial-deep-space-mission/

Eight months after the launch of their first experimental satellite Brokkr-1 into LEO #AstroForge has finally published a mission report, and it's a pretty detailled one: https://www.astroforge.io/updates/2023-update - there have been many problems with the small satellite as such but the in-orbit metal refining demo, which is crucial for their business plan of mining asteroids for Platin Group Metals and refining them into super-profitable blocks of metal with the spacecraft still there, can now finally begin.

The small #AsteroidMining start-up #AstroForge is only occasionally sharing details about its #space missions (the first one launched in April, the next one is waiting for a ride piggybacked on a lunar mission) but in the long interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDk7Ybu8nGM the CEO just provided *some* fascinating new insights into their near-term plans and grand vision. Fascinating ... and surprisingly full of F words, so you may not want to play it loud in an office environment or with children present. ;-)

The #Psyche #spacecraft travels using #SolarElectric (low-thrust) #propulsion. Solar electric propulsion uses electricity from solar arrays to create electromagnetic fields to accelerate and expel charged atoms (#ions) of #xenon to create a very low thrust with a very efficient use of #propellant . This will be the first use of a #HallEffectThruster beyond lunar orbit.
#Launch period October 5-25, 2023 https://psyche.asu.edu/mission/launch

Propulsion : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyche_(spacecraft)#Propulsion

#Forbes "Psyche could contain a core of #iron, #nickel and #gold worth $10,000 #quadrillion" https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/10/29/nasa-will-launch-psyche-mission-to-explore-asteroid-worth-more-than-the-global-economy

#NYT #AsteroidMining : "let’s say Psyche were pulverized and carried to #Earth . For precisely that reason, #prices of iron and nickel would drop close to zero. I interviewed Matthew Gialich, the chief executive officer and a co-founder of #AstroForge. They’re going for #platinum, which sells for a little under $1,000 an ounce, and related #metals, such as #palladium." https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/opinion/psyche-asteroid-nasa-mining.html