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

[vaporcobra]

Those "holes" are the usual ones for the fairing conditioning. The umbilicals were connected to the second stage. On the "moon shot" of Falcon 9 on the pad you can see the new hardware and on the strongback there's an extra QD going to the top of the second stage, this is the QD for methane and oxygen for this lander.

And for those curious, T0 to the second was 1:05:37AM EST (06:05:37 UTC) for this launch.

With this hindsight, the most easily observable confirmation is the gradual addition and outfitting of boxes/plumbing (presumably all the valves, sensors, and controllers needed for methalox loading) on opposite sides of the 39A T/E for several months preceding IM-1. The cutouts are visible by Oct 2023 (Psyche), followed by the appearance of two new partially plumbed control boxes around the end of 2023 (USSF-52), and finally both fully-installed boxes with insulated plumbing by Jan/Feb 2024 (Ax-3/IM-1).

[theinternetftw]

Regarding the mission update, note that any posts unrelated to the launch itself should now go in the IM-1 mission thread.

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/ENNEPS/status/1758333202496630908

34 payloads, 23 Hours, 3 Launches, 1 Rocket!SpaceX celebrated 300 launches of the Falcon 9 Rocket, with a triple header from all three of their pads in less than a day.
Catch all the action 24/7 from the Space Coast on @NASASpaceflight 's Space Coast Live http://nsf.live/spacecoast

[Galactic Penguin SST]

https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1758287773126279516

Three Falcon 9 launches in ~23 hours, completing our 13th, 14th, and 15th missions of the year

[john57sharp]

I notice that the F9 second stage is still close to the Nova-C, do we know if the stage will be left on this trajectory, and if so what will happen to it? I'm guessing it will swing past the Moon and end up orbitin the Sun out of the way?

John

[edkyle99]

I notice that the F9 second stage is still close to the Nova-C, do we know if the stage will be left on this trajectory, and if so what will happen to it? I'm guessing it will swing past the Moon and end up orbitin the Sun out of the way?

John

If it flies by the Moon, it will be on the inbound side of an elliptical orbit that has an apogee beyond the Moon.  Not sure what happens then.  The Moon won't be there when it is ascending toward apogee.

 - Ed Kyle

[sdsds]

Celestrak data at https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/table.php?INTDES=2024-030 now shows the two objects (IM-1 and Falcon stage 2) have markedly different apogees. Is it reasonable to conclude the second stage performed a third MVac burn to accomplish this?

[Herb Schaltegger]

Celestrak data at https://celestrak.org/NORAD/elements/table.php?INTDES=2024-030 now shows the two objects (IM-1 and Falcon stage 2) have markedly different apogees. Is it reasonable to conclude the second stage performed a third MVac burn to accomplish this?

Likely not a burn, but a blowdown of tank residuals through the MVac nozzle as part of its inerting process.

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/SpaceOffshore/status/1758541263312187519

Four fairing halves were delivered back to Florida today as SpaceX recovery ships Bob and Doug returned from the IM-1 and USSF-124 missions! 📸http://nsf.live/spacecoast

[realnouns]

Bob returned to PC on Feb 16 @ 11:53am ET

[catdlr]

[zubenelgenubi]

As per Bill Harwood's usual practice, if launch is on the :00 second, it is truncated.

https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/1758009790364541197

William Harwood @cbs_spacenews
F9/IM-1: LIFTOFF! At 1:05am EST (0605 UTC).

Edited; thank you Alex.

[Alexphysics]

As per Bill Harwood's usual practice, if launch is on the :00 second, it is truncated.

https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/1758009790364541197

William Harwood @cbs_spacenews
F9/IM-1: LIFTOFF! At 1:05am EST (0605 UTC).

Negative.

And for those curious, T0 to the second was 1:05:37AM EST (06:05:37 UTC) for this launch.

[Alpha Control]

https://twitter.com/Gwynne_Shotwell/status/1758024561181000003

IM-1 is on its way to be the first American spacecraft to land on the lunar surface since the Apollo program ended more than 50 years ago!

This footage is asking for Fur Elise music.

Another good choice would be the Blue Danube waltz (a la "2001" - the scenes when Heywood Floyd is heading towards the moon).

[king1999]

The second stage showed up in three pictures:
https://twitter.com/Int_Machines/status/1758899202174685589

[john57sharp]

I notice that the F9 second stage is still close to the Nova-C, do we know if the stage will be left on this trajectory, and if so what will happen to it? I'm guessing it will swing past the Moon and end up orbitin the Sun out of the way?

John

If it flies by the Moon, it will be on the inbound side of an elliptical orbit that has an apogee beyond the Moon.  Not sure what happens then.  The Moon won't be there when it is ascending toward apogee.

 - Ed Kyle

Thanks Ed, and to the others who posted info. It seems that the second stage will have vented it's tanks to become inert, which along with the Nova-C burn will have separated the two vehicles. I suspect the stage will eventually re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere, but I'll keep a look out for updates.

John

[spacexplorer]

The second stage showed up in three pictures:
https://twitter.com/Int_Machines/status/1758899202174685589

Is the moon visible in 4th image?

[jcm]

Those "holes" are the usual ones for the fairing conditioning. The umbilicals were connected to the second stage. On the "moon shot" of Falcon 9 on the pad you can see the new hardware and on the strongback there's an extra QD going to the top of the second stage, this is the QD for methane and oxygen for this lander.

And for those curious, T0 to the second was 1:05:37AM EST (06:05:37 UTC) for this launch.

Alex thanks - the accurate launch time is appreciated.

[catdlr]

https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1760316507161088143

IM-1 lunar orbit insertion burn should be completed by now. No info yet.
6:52 AM · Feb 21, 2024

[gongora]

Mission updates should be in the other thread.
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=59696