spacetoday.net: Israeli GLXP team first to have validated launch contract

Posted: Sat, Oct 10, 2015, 11:11 AM ET (1511 GMT)
SpaceIL lander concept, Oct 2015 (SpaceIL)

An Israeli team competing for the Google Lunar X PRIZE is the first team to have a launch contract validated by the competition's organizers, a milestone that extends the competition's deadline by two years. SpaceIL plans to launch its lander on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the second half of 2017 as one of the primary payloads on a dedicated rideshare mission organized by Spaceflight Industries. The team has raised about $40 million of the $50 million it expects to need to carry out the mission, thanks primarily to grants from two foundations. The launch contract means that the competition, which was in danger of expiring at the end of 2015, is now extended through the end of 2017. The other 15 teams still in the competition have until the end of 2016 to submit launch contracts of their own to the X PRIZE Foundation.