Have there been any updates or reported trajectories for the F9 upper stage? It 'should' have made a perilune pass approximately the same time IM-1 performed LOI....
QuoteHave there been any updates or reported trajectories for the F9 upper stage? It 'should' have made a perilune pass approximately the same time IM-1 performed LOI....Yes, Bill Gray at Project Pluto is maintaining an orbit for both IM-1 and the F9 upper stage here:https://projectpluto.com/pluto/mpecs/24030a.htmhttps://projectpluto.com/pluto/mpecs/24030b.htmOf course the orbit for IM-1 will soon be obsolete after its LOI maneuver. He mentions that the orbit for the upper stage should be useful for some time, especially after new optical observations are available post-perilune.
Quote from: Alexphysics on 02/15/2024 03:27 pmThose "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).
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.
A few notes:The mission experienced 11 "crises," including nearly being lost a couple of hours after launch. The company's CEO, Steve Altemus, told me the pinpoint precision of the Falcon 9 rocket's push toward the Moon afforded IM the time to address a star tracker problem.
Our official IM-1 mission ended on February 29th, as Odie was not designed to survive the Moon’s harsh temperatures without sunlight. While we wait for the possibility of hearing from Odie once the sun shines on the solar panels prior to the end of the month, watch our mission recap below, which includes a heartfelt farewell from Mission Director @astro2fish, commemorating the lander's groundbreaking voyage and the wealth of knowledge delivered from the lunar surface.
As previously announced on February 29th, our IM-1 mission ended seven days after landing, as Odysseus’ mission was not intended to survive the harsh temperatures of the lunar night. Before its batteries were depleted, flight controllers tucked Odie into a configuration that could call home if various systems outperformed manufacturer expectations. Intuitive Machines started listening for Odie’s wake-up signal on March 20, when we projected enough sunlight would potentially charge the lander's power system and turn on its radio.As of March 23rd at 1030 A.M. Central Standard Time, flight controllers decided their projections were correct, and Odie’s power system would not complete another call home. This confirms that Odie has permanently faded after cementing its legacy into history as the first commercial lunar lander to land on the Moon.
