Experienced consultants will help Astrobotic improve its safety standards and likelihood of success
Astrobotic is tapping industry veterans to develop its second, larger lander as it enters the final stages of investigation into its first mission to the Moon.
March 21 Astrobotic announced the hiring of Steve Clark as vice president of landers and satellites and Frank Perry as chief technology officer. The company has also retained Mike Gazarik and Jim Reuter as consultants.
Clark, a former NASA official, has held various positions including deputy associate administrator for exploration at NASA's Science Mission Directorate and also led the CLPS program, of which Astrobotic is a member. He most recently served as Director of Architectural Concepts at Sierra Space. Peri, former director of the Flight Safety and Assurance Directorate at NASA Langley Research Center. Astrobotic's chief executive, John Thornton, said in an interview that the hire was made to attract people with more experience to work on the lunar module and other company projects.
«Clark understands the CLPS model because he started using it while at NASA», — Thornton said. “He brings talent and important skills to the company and the Griffin program.” Griffin — this is a lunar lander being built by Astrobotic that will be larger than the Peregrine lander that launched in January.
Thornton said the company hired Peri for his experience working in safety and flight operations at NASA Langley. “We're going to be focusing more on modernization in this area, and we're excited to have him join us and help our engineering teams, creating a team that can not just do one successful launch, but do it over and over again.”
Gazarik and Reiter, former NASA deputy administrators for space technology, are the first publicly announced consultants, although Thornton noted that many others are helping the company in less formal ways.
Astrobotic is currently completing its investigation into its first lunar mission — Peregrine. The spacecraft was launched on January 8, but a few hours after launch there was a fuel leak, which prevented it from reaching the Moon. The module spent two weeks in space before falling into the South Pacific Ocean. During the mission, Astrobotic reported that the likely cause of the leak was a valve failure that allowed helium to leak into the oxidizer tank, creating excess pressure.
Thornton said the external review, which involves outside experts, should be completed in the coming weeks, although the company has not set a specific completion date.
«If more time is needed to identify problems and fully understand them, we will spend that time taking into account the need to obtain feedback to be taken into account in the production of the Griffin», — he said.
Assembly of Griffin continues «progressing at a rapid pace» parallel to the investigation, but the company is preparing to make some changes based on the results of the investigation.
These changes, Thornton said, will impact not only Griffin's equipment, but also its schedule. The lander was scheduled to launch later this year to take NASA's Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) to the moon's south polar regions to search for water ice.