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Gagarin on the way to the launch site of Vostok I, April 12, 1961.Image Credits:Sovfoto/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

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Hello and receive back to TechCrunch Space . Happy Eclipse Day for everyone celebrating ! I ’m fortunate to be subsist in a part of the country that ’s in the itinerary of totality , so I ’ll be away from my desk for much of today , soaking it all in .

Want to reach out with a steer ? Email Aria ataria.techcrunch@gmail.comor broadcast me a content on Signal at 512 - 937 - 3988 . You also can send a annotation to the whole TechCrunch gang attips@techcrunch.com . For more secure communications , click here to get hold of us , which admit SecureDrop didactics and inter-group communication to encrypted messaging apps .

Story of the week

NASA has given three space companies the chance to design the next - coevals Sun Myung Moon buggy — but only one design will go to space . Intuitive Machines , Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab are developing broken vehicle signify for astronauts to drive around on the lunar surface , from which NASA may choose as ahead of time as next yr .

The three teamswill now participate into a 12 - calendar month “ feasibility phase angle ” that will culminate in a preliminary design reassessment . At that power point , there will be a subsequent militant request for proposals , where the threesome of companionship will compete for a presentment task fiat .   At that full point , a last awardee will be select . The select company will be responsible not only for designing the lunar terrain vehicle ( LTV ) but also for launching and land it on the moonlight prior to the Artemis V commission , which is currently slated for no earlier than 2029 .

Scoop of the week

Footage obtained by TechCrunch shows the ruinous ending that Astra ’s Rocket 3.0 stomach during prelaunch examination in March 2020 .

The explosion , which occur at Alaska ’s Pacific Spaceport Complex , was simply reported as an “ anomaly ” at the fourth dimension , an industry full term for reasonably much any issue that vary from the carry outcome .

What we’re reading

Blue Origin denote the gang of the next New Shepard launch — and 90 - class - older Ed Dwight is among the name list . I ’m embarrassed to acknowledge that I did n’t tell apart the name , but this narration over at GeekWire help occupy in the missing pieces to his story and its significance to the chronicle of human spaceflight .

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This week in space history

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man in place on April 12 , 1961 . From NASA : “ His vehicle , Vostok 1 circle Earth at a speed of 27,400 kilometers per minute with the flight of steps endure 108 minute . Vostok ’s reentry was control by a computer . Unlike the other U.S. human spaceflight programs , Gagarin did not land inside of capsule . or else , he ejected from the ballistic capsule and shore by chute . ”