Beresheet: Tech glitch triggered chain of events - Arutz Sheva

Preliminary data supplied by the engineering team of SpaceIL and IAI suggests a technical glitch in one of the components triggered the chain of events that caused the main engine of the spacecraft to stop.

Without the main engine running it was impossible to stop Beresheet's velocity. Beresheet overcame the issue by restarting the engine. However, by that time, its velocity was too high to slow and the landing could not be completed as planned.

Prelimanry technical information collected by the teams shows that the first technical issue occurred at 14 km above the moon. At 150 meters from the ground, when the connection with the spacecraft was lost completely, the spacecraft was moving vertically at 500 km/h to the inevitable collision with the lunar surface.

Comprehensive tests will be held next week to gain better understanding of the events.

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