Does anyone here know the mass of the fuel, liquid methane and oxygen, on IM-1?Gunters has a launch mass of 1908 kg.NASA GSFC also says 1908 kg and lists the thrust as 3100 N but has no more information.Of interest is the mass fraction and Isp to estimate the total delta-V capacity for another application. ...assuming the IM-1 flight goes well and Intuitive Systems lives to fight another day....
Standing down from tonight’s attempt due to off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load. Now targeting Thursday, February 15 at 1:05 a.m. ET for Falcon 9's launch of the @Int_Machines IM-1 mission from Florida → http://spacex.com/launches
Although I am a big supporter of the policy of NASA buying space science data ftom private companies (I wrote the enabling language in the Commercial Space Act of 1998), I am not happy with the implementation.My take on the implementation: NASA throws money at startups with no track record, and hopes that they can pull off lunar landings with zero experience in space. Giving contracts for companies that haven't even launched a Cubesat is a recipe for disaster.Once enough of these errors result in money thrown into the trash, I would hope that NASA will simply buy data from private missions, funded by private capital.
T+269: IM-1 and Beyond (with Tim Crain, Co-Founder and CTO of Intuitive Machines)MARCH 7, 2024Tim Crain, Co-Founder and CTO of Intuitive Machines, joins me to talk about their recent IM-1 mission to land Odysseus on the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS program.
NASA Awards Intuitive Machines Lunar South Pole Research DeliveryTiernan P. DoyleAUG 29, 2024RELEASE24-110NASA HeadquartersA new set of NASA science experiments and technology demonstrations will arrive at the lunar South Pole in 2027 following the agency’s latest CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative delivery award. Intuitive Machines of Houston will receive $116.9 million to deliver six NASA payloads to a part of the Moon where nighttime temperatures are frigid, the terrain is rugged, and the permanently shadowed regions could help reveal the origin of water throughout our solar system.Part of the agency’s broader Artemis campaign, CLPS aims to conduct science on the Moon for the benefit of all, including experiments and demos that support missions with crew on the lunar surface.“This marks the 10th CLPS delivery NASA has awarded, and the fourth planned for delivery to the South Pole of the Moon,” said Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By supporting a robust cadence of CLPS flights to a variety of locations on the lunar surface, including two flights currently planned by companies for later this year, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before.”NASA has awarded Intuitive Machine’s four task orders. The company delivered six NASA payloads to Malapert A in the South Pole region of the Moon in early 2024. With this lunar South Pole delivery, Intuitive Machines will be responsible for payload integration, launch from Earth, safe landing on the Moon, and mission operations.“The instruments on this newly awarded flight will help us achieve multiple scientific objectives and strengthen our understanding of the Moon’s environment,” said Chris Culbert, manager of the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “For example, they’ll help answer key questions about where volatiles – such as water, ice, or gas – are found on the lunar surface and measure radiation in the South Pole region, which could advance our exploration efforts on the Moon and help us with continued exploration of Mars.”The instruments, collectively expected to be about 174 pounds (79 kilograms) in mass, include:The Lunar Explorer Instrument for Space Biology Applications will deliver yeast to the lunar surface and study its response to radiation and lunar gravity. The payload is managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California.Package for Resource Observation and In-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Characterization and Testing is a suite of instruments that will drill down to 3.3 feet (1 meter) beneath the lunar surface, extract samples, and process them in-situ in a miniaturized laboratory, to identify possible volatiles (water, ice, or gas) trapped at extremely cold temperatures under the surface. This suite is led by ESA (European Space Agency). The Laser Retroreflector Array is a collection of eight retroreflectors that will enable lasers to precisely measure the distance between a spacecraft and the reflector on the lander. The array is a passive optical instrument and will function as a permanent location marker on the Moon for decades to come. The retroflector array is managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Surface Exosphere Alterations by Landers will investigate the chemical response of lunar regolith to the thermal, physical, and chemical disturbances generated during a landing, and evaluate contaminants injected into the regolith by the lander. It will give insight into how a spacecraft landing might affect the composition of samples collected nearby. This payload is managed by NASA Goddard.The Fluxgate Magnetometer will characterize certain magnetic fields to improve the understanding of energy and particle pathways at the lunar surface and is managed by NASA Goddard.The Lunar Compact Infrared Imaging System will deploy a radiometer – a device that measures infrared wavelengths of light – to explore the Moon’s surface composition, map its surface temperature distribution, and demonstrate the instrument’s feasibility for future lunar resource utilization activities. The imaging system is managed by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder.Under CLPS, multiple commercial deliveries to different geographic regions will help NASA conduct science and continue working toward a long-term human presence on the Moon. Future deliveries will include sophisticated science experiments, and technology demonstrations as part of the agency’s Artemis campaign. Two upcoming CLPS flights slated to launch near the end of 2024 will deliver NASA payloads to the Moon’s nearside and South Pole, including the Intuitive Machines-2 delivery of NASA’s first on-site demonstration of searching for water and other chemical compounds 3.3 feet below the surface of the Moon, using a drill and mass spectrometer.Learn more about CLPS and Artemis at:https://www.nasa.gov/clps-end-
An artist’s concept of Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander on the Moon’s South Pole.An artist’s concept of Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander on the Moon’s South Pole.Credit: Intuitive Machines
NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines a Near Space Network Contract with a maximum potential value of $4.82 billion.As part of the contract, Intuitive Machines will deploy lunar relay satellites and provide communication & navigation services that play an essential role in NASA’s Artemis campaign to establish a long-term presence on the Moon.
NASA Awards Intuitive Machines Near Space Network Contract with a Maximum Potential Value of $4.82 BillionIntuitive Machines, Inc. (Nasdaq: LUNR, LUNRW) (“Intuitive Machines”) (“Company”), a leading space exploration, infrastructure, and services company, today announced NASA has awarded the Company a Near Space Network (“NSN”) contract for communication and navigation services for missions in the near space region, which extends from Earth’s surface to beyond the Moon.This Subcategory 2.2 Geostationary Orbit to Cislunar Relay Services is a new Firm-Fixed-Price, Multiple Award, Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (“IDIQ”) Task Order Contract. The contract has a base period of five years with an additional five-year option period, with a maximum potential value of $4.82 billion. The incrementally funded base ordering period begins Tuesday, October 1, 2024, through September 30, 2029, with the option period potentially extending the contract through September 30, 2034.“This contract marks an inflection point in Intuitive Machines’ leadership in space communications and navigation,” said Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus. “We’re pleased to partner with NASA, as one team, to support the Artemis campaign and endeavors to expand the lunar economy.”A key highlight of this contract is the debut of Intuitive Machines’ lunar satellite constellation, a service the Company believes is a strategic element in its vision to commercialize lunar activities. The constellation will provide enhanced data and transmission services and autonomous operations, creating a robust infrastructure in line with Intuitive Machines’ three pillars to commercialize a celestial body.Delivery: Scaling lunar lander capabilities to support cargo and infrastructure delivery.Data Transmission Services: Establishing a network of satellites capable of delivering 4K resolution video data and navigation services, assisting in landing site selection and resource prospecting.Autonomous Operations: Developing infrastructure, logistics, and mapping solutions on the Moon to facilitate exploration and operations.As part of this contract, the Company will deploy lunar relay satellites and provide communication and navigation services that play an essential role in NASA’s Artemis campaign to establish a long-term presence on the Moon.
