The first sign of trouble came at about 19:21 UTC, when flight controllers reported one of Beresheet's inertial measuring units had reset, temporarily shutting off the flow of telemetry. It was unclear if this was related to the engine problem that ultimately doomed the spacecraft.

Roughly a minute later, a telemetry indicator for Beresheet's velocity turned red, indicating what may have been a higher-than-expected 74.9 meters per second vertical approach speed. Shortly thereafter, indicator lights for Beresheet's engines blinked off, and an official in mission control announced there was a problem with the spacecraft's main engine.

The main engine came back online, but at that point, the spacecraft's altitude showed just 149 meters, while its vertical speed was still 134 meters per second, and its horizontal speed was 947 meters per second. At that point, all telemetry from the spacecraft stopped, and ground observers reported a loss of signal at 19:23.