SpaceX F9 : Intuitive Machines IM-1 : KSC LC-39A : 15 Feb 2024 (06:05 UTC)

[GewoonLukas_]

Intuitive Machines Lunar Lander Encapsulated and Scheduled for Launch
February 5th, 2024

Intuitive Machines, Inc. (Nasdaq: LUNR, LUNRW) (“Intuitive Machines”) (“Company”), a leading space exploration, infrastructure, and services company, announced its IM-1 mission Nova-C class lunar lander completed all integration milestones and is safely encapsulated within SpaceX’s payload fairing in preparation for launch.

In coordination with SpaceX, launch of the Company’s IM-1 mission is targeted for a multi-day launch window that opens no earlier than 12:57 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 14th from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“As we prepare to embark on our IM-1 mission to the Moon, we carry with us the collective

spirit of perseverance, fueled by the dedication and hard work of everyone on our team,” said

Intuitive Machines President and CEO Steve Altemus. “Their tireless efforts have brought us to this moment, where we stand on the precipice of history, humbled by the gravity of our mission, yet emboldened by the boundless possibilities that lie ahead.“

The Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission will be the Company’s first attempted lunar landing as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (“CLPS”) initiative, a key part of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration efforts. The science and technology payloads sent to the Moon’s surface as part of CLPS intend to lay the foundation for human missions and a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface.

[PM3]

DOGE-1 (12U, 13.8kg, Geometric Energy) (deployed from F9 second stage)

I didn't find any proof DOGE-1 will actually launch as a surfboard payload other than they received the FCC licences a month ago.

Looks like it's postponed. Any idea what their next opportunity is?

Where are you seeing that it's postponed?

The predecessor satellites Genmat-1, Noclip-1 und Moxy-1 were announced to launch on Transporter-6 by FCC license 0811-EX-CN-2022, then again announced here a few weeks before Transporter-6 launch, but there is no indication that they actually went to orbit.

Now, is there any confirmation that Doge-1 exists at all, or even is ready for launch, or even will launch next week? I am sceptical about this whole project.

[scr00chy]

DOGE-1 (12U, 13.8kg, Geometric Energy) (deployed from F9 second stage)

I didn't find any proof DOGE-1 will actually launch as a surfboard payload other than they received the FCC licences a month ago.

Looks like it's postponed. Any idea what their next opportunity is?

Where are you seeing that it's postponed?

The predecessor satellites Genmat-1, Noclip-1 und Moxy-1 were announced to launch on Transporter-6 by FCC license 0811-EX-CN-2022, then again announced here a few weeks before Transporter-6 launch, but there is no indication that they actually went to orbit.

Now, is there any confirmation that Doge-1 exists at all, or even is ready for launch, or even will launch next week? I am sceptical about this whole project.

It's been postponed. Geometric Energy retweeted this today: https://twitter.com/SamuelReidGEC/status/1754635923160170799

GEC @GeometricEnergy paid @SpaceX in DOGE for re-booking the DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon to a mission after IM-1, which could be a @Int_Machines mission such as IM-2 or another mission depending upon when the DOGE-1 satellite ships to @maverick_space in the U.S. from @ExoboticsUK

[catdlr]

Feb 6, 2024
A NASA-developed fuel measurement technology, the Radio Frequency Mass Gauge, will be demonstrated on a journey to the Moon.

[sdsds]

Feb 6, 2024
A NASA-developed fuel measurement technology, the Radio Frequency Mass Gauge, will be demonstrated on a journey to the Moon.

Press release here: https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/glenn/nasa-tests-new-spacecraft-propellant-gauge-on-lunar-lander/

[GewoonLukas_]

Falcon 9 is rolling out to LC-39A:

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/launchphoto/status/1755265740867821669

Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander

[zubenelgenubi]

Falcon 9 is rolling out to LC-39A:

Any news about today's Wet Dress Rehearsal?

[Targeteer]

NASA Sets Coverage for SpaceX, Intuitive Machines First Moon Mission

FEB 07, 2024

MEDIA ADVISORY M24-023

The Nova-C lunar lander is encapsulated within the fairing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in preparation for launch, as part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign.

SpaceX

As part of NASA’s CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) initiative and Artemis campaign, SpaceX is targeting no earlier than 12:57 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, for a Falcon 9 launch of Intuitive Machines’ first lunar lander to the Moon’s surface. Liftoff will be from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Live launch coverage will air on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Monday, Feb. 12. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms, including social media.

Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lander is expected to land on the Moon Thursday, Feb. 22. Among the items on its lander, the IM-1 mission will carry NASA science and technology instruments focusing on plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies.

Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):

Monday, Feb. 12

11 a.m. – Science media teleconference with the following participants:

    Susan Lederer, CLPS project scientist, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
    Farzin Amzajerdian, principal investigator, Navigation Doppler Lidar, NASA’s Langley Research Center
    Tamara Statham, co-principal investigator, Lunar Node-1, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center
    Daniel Cremons, deputy principal investigator, Laser Retro-Reflector Array, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
    Nat Gopalswamy, principal investigator, Radio Observations of the Lunar Surface Photoelectron Sheath, NASA Goddard
    Michelle Munk, principal investigator, Stereo Camera for Lunar Plume-Surface Studies, NASA Langley
    Lauren Ameen, deputy project manager, Radio Frequency Mass Gauge, NASA’s Glenn Research Center

Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, media must contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 10 a.m. Feb. 12, at: [email protected]. The public can submit questions on social media using #AskNASA.

4:30 p.m. – Lunar delivery readiness media teleconference with the following participants:

    Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for Exploration, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters 
    Debra Needham, program scientist, Exploration Science Strategy and Integration Office, NASA Headquarters
    Trent Martin, vice president, Space Systems, Intuitive Machines
    William Gerstenmaier, vice president, Build and Flight Reliability, SpaceX
    Arlena Moses, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron

Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Media may ask questions via phone only. For the dial-in number and passcode, media must contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than 3:30 p.m. Feb. 12, at: [email protected].

Wednesday, Feb. 14

12:15 a.m. – NASA TV launch coverage begins

12:57 a.m. – Launch

Coverage is subject to change based on real-time operational activities. Follow the Artemis blog for updates.

NASA launch coverage
Audio only of the launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, or -7135. On launch day, the full mission broadcast can be heard on -1220 and -1240, while the countdown net only can be heard on -7135 beginning approximately one hour before the launch broadcast begins.

On launch day, a “tech feed” of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.

NASA website launch coverage

Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 12:15 a.m. Feb. 14, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on the Artemis blog for updates.

Attend launch virtually

Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. Registrants will receive mission updates and activities by email. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities, and a virtual guest passport stamp following a successful launch.

Watch, engage on social media

Let people know you’re following the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtag #Artemis. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:

X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAArtemis, @NASAMoon

Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, NASAArtemis

Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAArtemis

In May 2019, the agency awarded a task order for scientific payload delivery to Intuitive Machines. Through Artemis, commercial robotic deliveries will perform science experiments, test technologies, and demonstrate capabilities to help NASA explore the Moon in advance of Artemis Generation astronaut missions to the lunar surface, in preparation for future missions to Mars.

NASA is working with several U.S. companies to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface through the agency’s CLPS initiative. This pool of companies may bid on task orders. A task order award includes payload integration and operations, as well as launching from Earth and landing on the surface of the Moon. CLPS contracts are indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with a cumulative maximum contract value of $2.6 billion through 2028.

For more information about the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, see:

https://www.nasa.gov/clps

[zubenelgenubi]

As of 5:30 pm EST, via NSF Space Coast Live.


Booster ID?  It's plenty sooty.

(If it can't be done from the camera distance, does anyone--who is free to say--know?)

[zubenelgenubi]

Which first stage will be used for this launch?
(semi-rhetorical question)

Falcon 9 first stages are now apparently cleared for use up to twenty times for non-crewed launches, although that number is apparently more restricted for Cargo Dragon or Cygnus than these other payloads.

1064.6 and 1065.6 are the Falcon Heavy side boosters for Europa Clipper.

1072.1 and 1086.1 are assigned as the side boosters for GOES-U.  1083.1 is reserved for Crew-8.

1073.13 and 1076.11 may undergo modifications to become Falcon Heavy side boosters for a future launch, but both are currently available for "single-stick" launches.

Available first stages, with UTC date of most recent recovery:
1060.18  Sep 24
1078.7    Dec 3
1069.13  Dec 29
1076.11  Jan 3
1067.17  Jan 7
1073.13  Jan 15
1080.6    Jan 18

Booster ID?  It's plenty sooty.

Speculation:
Perhaps B1069.13?  Or 1076.11, 1067.17, 1073.13?

Or, what if extremely sooty B1060.18 has been "idle" so long because it was assigned to this launch back in October for a November 2023 launch?

Edit February 8: It's B1060.18!

[zubenelgenubi]

As of 10:00 pm EST, via NSF Space Coast Live.
Falcon 9 is vertical.

[GewoonLukas_]

Or, what if extremely sooty B1060.18 has been "idle" so long because it was assigned to this launch back in October for a November 2023 launch?

You could be right:

NextSpaceflight (Updated February 8th)
First stage B1060-18
https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/1915

[Chinakpradhan]

https://twitter.com/launchphoto/status/1755265740867821669

Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander

spotted the propellant lines going inside fairing see hole

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1755618533268984233

Big Cryo tanks arriving into Port Canaveral, while Falcon 9 undergoes a WDR for IM-1 on 39A.

Live: nsf.live/spacecoast

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/1755623501573026132

F9/IM-1: SpaceX is running tests at KSC pad 39A today to verify the performance of recently installed liquid oxygen/methane propellant loading hardware needed for Intuitive Machines' IM-1 moon lander; the spacecraft’s Falcon 9 rocket was hauled to the pad yesterday and venting indicates testing is underway this morning; launch is targeted for 2/14, pending test results

[Ken the Bin]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

091013Z FEB 24
NAVAREA IV 147/24(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 
   140552Z TO 140633Z FEB, ALTERNATE 
   150600Z TO 150642Z AND 160607Z TO 160649Z FEB
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39.23N 080-37.85W, 28-40.00N 080-24.00W,
      28-38.00N 080-06.00W, 28-27.00N 080-04.00W, 
      28-27.00N 080-28.00W, 28-27.00N 080-30.00W, 
      28-27.39N 080-31.54W.
   B. 28-45.00N 077-34.00W, 28-52.00N 074-34.00W,
      28-46.00N 074-00.00W, 28-23.00N 073-59.00W,
      28-14.00N 074-27.00W, 28-28.00N 077-34.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 160749Z FEB 24.//

[Martin_G]

https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp:

SPACEX INTUITIVE MACHINES-1 (X1962) CCSFS/KSC, FL
PRIMARY:   02/14/24   0552Z-0633Z
BACKUP:      02/15/24   0600Z-0642Z
      02/16/24   0607Z-0649Z

[ddspaceman]

NASA's Johnson Space Center
@NASA_Johnson
Lunar landing incoming… 🌑

On this week’s #HWHAP, NASA and Intuitive Machines experts discuss the science and operations behind the IM-1 mission ahead of its journey to land on the Moon’s surface. https://go.nasa.gov/4872K4B

https://twitter.com/NASA_Johnson/status/1756012609126429000

[OneSpeed]

NGA Rocket Launching notice.

Map from the NGA notice. Fairing splashdown some 595km downrange.