📅 Target Date: December 2025 (NET)
📍 Launch Site: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA
Category: Aerospace
Tag: #HeavyLift #LunarPayload #FalconHeavy
🧭 Mission Overview
The “Griffin Mission One” will be the next Falcon Heavy launch, scheduled for December 2025. This mission marks a key demonstration flight, delivering Astrobotic’s Griffin lunar lander and its companion FLIP lunar rover toward the Moon. It’s part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, aiming to use private-sector-led missions to establish a sustained lunar presence .
🚀 Payload & Objectives
Astrobotic Griffin Lander: Designed for precision autonomous moon landings; will deliver payloads ranging from scientific instruments to technology demos.
FLIP (FLEX Lunar Innovation Platform): A small rover hosting technology experiments in radiation tolerance, autonomous navigation, and substrate sampling—pioneering robotic lunar exploration.
🔧 Rocket & Launch Details
Vehicle: SpaceX Falcon Heavy (triple-core heavy-lift vehicle)
Launch Pad: Historic LC-39A (Shuttle & Apollo legacy launch site)
Capabilities: Capable of lifting ~64 metric tons to LEO and delivering payloads toward translunar trajectories—making it one of the most capable rockets currently in operation .
🧩 Mission Significance
Enabling Lunar Return: Adds momentum to NASA’s Artemis program and the private lunar supply chain—supporting a new era of moon-based science and tech development.
Rocket Reusability: Demonstrates Falcon Heavy’s ability to deliver heavy payloads reliably to translunar injection (TLI) trajectories, building confidence in reusable heavy-lift launchers.
Commercialization Leadership: Highlights the growing role of commercial providers like Astrobotic and SpaceX in lunar exploration.
🌍 Context & Timeline
Leads a wave of lunar missions planned for 2025–2026, including those by Intuitive Machines, Firefly, and CLPS partners .
Launch date currently set to “NET December 2025”, pending final integration timelines and readiness cycles.