Produced by: Manoj Kumar
AstroForge’s Odin, the first private spacecraft bound for an asteroid, is spinning uncontrollably in space. With contact lost, its historic mission may already be over.
Launched on Feb. 26, Odin was set to reach asteroid 2022 OB5, but after just 20 hours, all signals went dark, leaving engineers scrambling for answers.
Despite solar panels generating power, Odin hasn’t sent full telemetry. Engineers fear it’s alive but unable to communicate, drifting further from Earth.
AstroForge blames missed ground station connections for the crisis, suggesting early fixes were lost in the void, dooming the spacecraft before it began its journey.
Odin was last detected 186,000 miles from Earth, moving along its intended path—but without control, it may never reach its asteroid target.
With limited time left, AstroForge engineers are working tirelessly to reestablish control. If they fail, Odin becomes another piece of lost space history.
AstroForge hoped to pioneer asteroid mining, but Odin’s failure could shake confidence in commercial deep-space missions, making investors wary.
If Odin is lost, it will drift endlessly through the void—a cautionary tale of private space exploration’s dangers and the risks of venturing beyond the Moon.
AstroForge isn’t giving up yet, but CEO Matt Gialich admits hope is fading fast. If Odin doesn’t respond soon, its mission ends before it truly began.