Voyager Technologies' Griffin-1 Lander Passes JPL Tests, Ready for Falcon Heavy Launch
Voyager Technologies' Griffin-1 lunar lander cleared rigorous JPL environmental testing and is set to launch later this year on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy to deliver over 1,100 pounds of cargo to Nobile Crater near the Moon’s South Pole.
After a cross-country move from Voyager Lunar Systems’ Pittsburgh factory to JPL’s facilities in Southern California, the Griffin-1 lander was subjected to extensive environmental trials. Engineers measured its mass properties, performed EMI/EMC testing in an anechoic chamber, and shook the vehicle on a three-axis shaker table while monitoring hundreds of sensors. An acoustic chamber blasted the craft with up to 153 decibels to replicate launch roar, and the 25-foot Space Simulator cycled temperatures from 167 °F down to -148 °F to mimic space and lunar conditions.
The 2,789-pound vehicle will transport more than 1,100 pounds of international science and technology payloads, including Astrolab’s FLIP rover, to Nobile Crater under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. Following successful tests, Griffin-1 returned to Voyager’s assembly line for final integration before launch-readiness activities and shipment to Cape Canaveral.
Why it matters
The successful tests prove a commercial lander is ready to support the first sustained lunar outpost, advancing NASA’s Moon Base goals.
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