Crew-8: (L-R) Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenken, Astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps on the tarmac at KSC’s Launch and Landing Facility on February 25, 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer, Talk of Titusville
On Friday at 12:04 AM EST, NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, along with one Roscosmos cosmonaut, Alexander Grebenkin, are scheduled to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 with Crew Dragon and head towards the International Space Station. The crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center yesterday to begin their final preparations for the launch on March 1st.
Later in the day, mission managers and engineers conducted a Flight Readiness Review for the mission, where they assessed the rocket’s readiness, the crew and several other critical factors to approve the mission start.
Crew Arrival
Early in the afternoon, the crew arrived at the Launch and Landing Facility (LLF) at Kennedy Space Center, where they gave brief remarks to the press before leaving for other duties.
Mission Commander Matthew Dominick
Dominick, a former US Navy test pilot and a NASA astronaut since 2017 remarked that it is an “incredible time for spaceflight,” where launch activities at Kennedy Space Center and the Eastern Range happen so often that Crew-8 was slightly delayed to accommodate other missions:
Crew-8 Mission Commander Matthew Dominick’s gave remarks after he arrived at Kennedy Space Center.
Mission Pilot Sr. Michael Barratt
Dr. Barratt is an experienced and well-seasoned astronaut, having flown twice on Soyuz, and once on the Space Shuttle before he became a member of Crew-8. He has been extensively involved in medical and human factors applications for new space vehicles in the Commercial Crew and Artemis Programs, space medical risks, and research efforts. He began working at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in May 1991.
Barratt remarked that Kennedy Space Center has rebounded greatly since the end of the Shuttle program, and that today it is an incredibly busy place:
Mission Specialist Dr. Jeanette Epps
Dr. Epps, who has been with NASA since 2009, remarked on the long road to the launch pad and how she was trained on Russian, Boeing, and SpaceX flight systems. She holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland and is a well-respected and oft-cited researcher in her field and an astronaut.
In her remarks, she thanked everyone who participated in getting the mission to launch readiness.
Dr. Jeanette Epps speaks on February 25, 2024 after she arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Rusian Cosmonaut Alexander Grebenken
Grebenken, has served in the technical and operational units of the Air Force of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Armed Forces and has been a member of the Russian cosmonaut corps since 2018, first as a cosmonaut candidate, and in 2020 he was awarded the qualification of a test cosmonaut. He spoke through an interpreter during his brief remarks.
Alexander Grebenken on February 25, 2024 after he arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Flight Readiness Review
Also yesterday, a Flight Readiness Review for Crew-8 was conducted by mission managers at NASA and SpaceX to assess whether the mission was ready to proceed with the launch as planned on Friday.
Ken Bowersox, Associate Administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA said, “We talked about some of the technical items, on the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, the readiness of the crew, and the Space Station and even some of the science the crew will conduct.”
Bowersox said results were positive: “At the end of the review, everybody polled ‘Go’ and we’re on track for a launch at 12:04 EST on Friday March 1st from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.”
While Intuitive Machines soft-landing on the moon yesterday was successful, and the first by an American spacecraft in over fifty years, the news today is not all good: the company thinks that Odysseus, the company’s lunar lander is highly tilted or perhaps on its side.
In a NASA-hosted press conference late this afternoon, Intuitive Machines CEO and co-founder, Steve Altemus said that “We think we came down about 6 miles an hour [downwards towards the surface] and about 2 miles an hour [sideways] and caught a foot in the surface. And the lander has tipped [horizontally.] We believe this is the orientation of the lander on the moon.”
As he spoke, Altemus also showed a model of the lander in the orientation he believes that it is in:
Intuitive Machines Steve Altemus illustrating the orientation that mission controllers and engineers believe their lander is in on the lunar surface. Screencapture of NASA news conference from April 23, 2024
As to yesterday’s statement that Odysseus had landed in an upright condition, Altemus said “We thought we were upright. The reason was that the tanks were reading, [in] the X direction. And the tanks were reading, gravity on the moon, that the fill levels, [that] there were still residuals in the tank.”
He went on further to say yesterday’s announcement from IM that Odysseus was upright was incorrect after new data arrived and further review. “That was stale telemetry,” Altemus said. “When we worked through the night to get other telemetry [data] down, we noticed that in the Z-direction is where we’re seeing residual tank quantities. And so that’s what tells us, with fairly certain terms, the orientation of the vehicle.”
Intuitive Machines Steve Altemus at today’s press conference. Screencapture from NASA livestream
In short, new information and further assessment led Intuitive’s engineers to change their assessment of the lander’s final position. That assessment could change further as new data becomes available.
“My theory is just a theory,” Altemus said. He added that analysis of data will continue, and that photographs will be taken to help clarify the final result.
Science Experiments Are Actively Collecting Data
Altemus added that not all is lost, and that the IM-1 mission is continuing. “The majority of our payloads are all in view, and we are collecting science,” he said.
He illustrated his point further later in the press conference. “Fortunately, for most [experiments aboard Odysseus] of the payloads exposed to the outside, above the surface.”
On its side, of course, one panel has to be downwards close to the lunar surface. “That panel has a single payload on it, and it’s not an operational payload. It’s a static payload and we’re going to try to take a picture of that payload if we can.” Altemus continued by adding that it is believed that the panel holds the artwork payload, the Moon Phases Pace Verso / 4Space / NFMoon Sculpture created by artist Jeff Koons.
From a science standpoint, this may be the best possible outcome, allowing active experiments to continue gather data given the position Odysseus is now resting in. Odysseus’ surface operations are expected to take place through Thursday, February 29th, after which the landing site will be in lunar night and without any power from solar panels. With no power, the spacecraft cannot continue operations.
Still Working On Photos
As to photos, Altemus said that “Now that we’re on the Goonhilly dish in the United Kingdom, we’re downloading data from the buffers in the spacecraft trying to get you surface photos because I know that everyone’s hungry for those surface photos.”
Landing Still A Success, But Not An Unqualified Success
At the end of the day, given the novel territory that Intuitive Machines was operating in — this was their first foray to the lunar surface — it is fair to say that while they succeeded in landing their spacecraft safely, it did not land in an optimal position. It is also fair to say that many of the science objectives can probably still be met before the mission concludes, but like the lander, they too may not achieve all of their objectives.
At the end of the day, Intuitive Machines, NASA and scientists operating the experiments aboard Odysseus will learn a great deal. That knowledge will inform future missions and add to their chances of complete success.
Starship’s second test flight lifts off in Texas in 2023. Photo: SpaceX
The Department of the Air Force (along with cooperating agencies the FAA, NASA, and the U.S. Coast Guard) is undertaking environmental impact studies for launch pads for SpaceX’s heavy-lift Starship rocket according to a a recent public release from them. They are also eliciting public comments, with four meetings scheduled for March 2024.
Contents
For your convenience, here is a list of sections to this lengthy article. Click an option to jump to the part you are interested in. To return to the top, click the Back button in your browser.
The DAF has placed a new website online for information regarding a new Environmental Impact Statement for Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at https://spaceforcestarshipeis.com/. On it, they say
“The need for the Action is to ensure DAF Assured Access to Space without compromising current launch capabilities and fulfill (in part) the U.S. Congress’s grant of authority to the Secretary of Defense, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. Section 2276(a), “Commercial space launch cooperation,” that the Secretary of Defense is permitted to take action to:”
“Maximize the use of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) space transportation infrastructure by the private sector in the U.S.
“Maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the space transportation infrastructure of the DOD.
“Reduce the cost of services provided by the DOD related to space transportation infrastructure at launch support facilities and space recovery support facilities.
“Encourage commercial space activities by enabling investment by covered entities in the space transportation infrastructure of the DOD.
“Foster cooperation between the DOD and covered entities.”
Department of the Air Force, Retrieved February 16, 2024
Starship At a Glance
Currently under development near Brownville, Texas, Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. According to SpaceX, it will be fully reusable, and capable of lifting 150 tons of payload to orbit in a reusable configuration, and 250 tons when it is configured as a conventional expendable rocket.
Current Starship designs are 397 feet tall, and 29.5 feet in diameter, producing some 16.7 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.
By comparison, the Saturn V rockets used for the Apollo Program were 362 feet tall, and produced 7.6 million pounds of thrust. By any measure, Starship is a huge rocket with immense power, and its launches and returns will be heard across the Space Coast.
Similar to how SpaceX Falcon 9 completes in many of its launches today, the Starship booster would return to land at its launch site when its task for the mission has been completed. Unlike Falcon 9, which lands at a landing area close by, Starship would return to its pad, where it would be grappled by “chopsticks” as it completed its final approach.
Starship is planned to be a fully reusable vehicle, meaning that its second stage (often simply called “the ship” in SpaceX parlance) would reenter and return to land at its launch pad using the same chopsticks as the booster.
Starship is still somewhat early in its development, with two test launches so far, and a third on the plate for the next few weeks. Along with SLS, it is a vehicle integral to Project Artemis, this time in the role of being the Human Landing System. HLS is where astronauts will land, live and work on the lunar surface, with the forward plan being for extended stays.
Starship’s Propellants: Are They Toxic?
Unlike other rockets in the past that use highly toxic propellants, Starship relies on commonly found materials. The two propellants the power Starship’s Raptor engines are liquid oxygen and liquid methane. Methane is also known as “natural gas” and is used in many homes as stoves, heating systems and even some pool heaters here locally.
Methane combustion produces carbon dioxide and water as its byproducts. Starship utilizes a highly pure form of methane and oxygen, meaning that it does not have many other byproducts in its exhaust.
By comparison, rockets that use RP-1 as their fuel (Falcon 9, Saturn V, Atlas-V and many others) have carbon dioxide,water vapor, soot, sulfur containing compounds and small amounts of nitrogen oxide. All things considered, methane is a far cleaner fuel than RP-1.
Starship does not rely on solid rocket boosters (SLS, Atlas-V, Vulcan, Space Shuttle) SRBs typically emit aluminum oxide, soot, carbon dioxide, hydrogen chlorides, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen and other trace gases.
What About The Starship Tower at LC-39A?
The Starship tower under construction at LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center prior to Crew-7 launching from the adjacent Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy launch mount. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX began construction of a Starship launch mount adjacent to its Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy launch pad at LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center a couple of years, but it appears that construction has been halted for the time being while the company perfects and finalizes their Starship design and along with it, the launch mount itself.
The proposed action by DAF for the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station does not address that launch mount or its future. There is a separate Environmental Impact Statement for that launch pad and Starship. That EIS is being conducted by the FAA as the lead agency, while for this one, the Department of the Air Force is the lead agency. Both EIS efforts have major stakeholders as part of the EIS team.
Three launch pads: on the left in the background, SpaceX is raising a launch tower for Starship. Center, Artemis-1 on its launch pad. Right, in the background, is where SpaceX launches its Falcon-class rockets, including astronauts into Earth orbit. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Proposed Launch Pads At CCSFS from Department of the Air Force
The US Space Force is part of the Department of the Air Force, much like the US Marines are to the US Navy, as such DAF is the lead agency where Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is involved. For Starship DAF has proposed the following:
SpaceX would modify and use SLC-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS)
SpaceX and CCSFS would build a new pad, SLC-50, between the current SLC-37 and SLC-40
No action, where no Starship constructions or launch occurred from CCSFS
Option 1: SLC-37
SLC-37 Photo: Google Earth
Located nearly due east from NASA Parkway, SLC-37 currently is used by United Launch Alliance for Delta IV Heavy launches. That program has all but ended, with only one launch of the venerable heavy lifter remaining. That launch is scheduled for the March time frame when the company will loft the NROL-70 payload from the pad. After that, there are no Delta IV Heavy launches remaining.
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the NROL-68 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 on June. 22, 2023 at 5:18 a.m. ET. Photo: United Launch Alliance
SLC-37 is one of the older launch complexes at the Eastern Range — Construction on it started in 1959 and was used by NASA to support the Saturn I program starting in 1963. It originally had two launch pads, 37A and 37B, though 37A was never used. Saturn I launched from it from 1964-65, and the site was modified for Saturn IB launches, the most notable of which was Apollo 5. After that, in 1972, LC-37 was mothballed until 2001 when ULA began using it for Delta launches.
The Saturn IB launch vehicle (SA204) for the Apollo 5 mission lifted off on January 22, 1968. The unmarned Apollo 5 mission verified the ascent and descent stage propulsion systems, including restart and throttle operations of the Lunar Module. Photo: NASA
Given that SLC-37 has hosted launches for around sixty years, it presumably would have the least environmental impact of the two options the Space Force listed. Undoubtedly, that would have to studied and verified before SpaceX could begin construction at the facility.
Option 2: SLC-50
Slightly north of SLC-37 is another potential location for a new pad, according to the Space Force release.
Approximation of the proposed alternative area for an SLC-50 Photo: Google Earth
This is currently an undeveloped area of the facility, and conversion and construction of a new launch pad would require environmental impact studies to be completed prior to any construction there.
Option 3: No Construction
This is what it sounds like, no Starship launch pad would be built at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Given that NASA has stated that no new LC-49 pad studies or activities are underway from the Kennedy Space Center side of the Eastern Range, that leaves either the LC-39A launch mount being completed for Starship or Starship not launching from the Eastern Range at all.
The latter option — no launch pad, no Starship — would be problematic for both SpaceX and for NASA, who is relying on Starship for the Artemis program and its lunar lander. It is possible that SpaceX and NASA could reach agreement to complete the Starship Launch Mount at LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, but that comes with its own issues.
Project Flight Paths
Many people may be wondering just where Starship would fly. The simple answer appears to be that it would be able to take the typical range of trajectories as other rockets that have flown or are flying from the Eastern Range today.
Notably, however, “polar” (North-South orbits) trajectories such as the ones SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has taken from to time from SLC-40 were not mentioned and we presume not in the current plans for Starship.
It is also worth noting that like Falcon 9, Starship and its boosters will return to the Cape to land, be refurbished and reused. That will bring sonic booms, just like the old Space Shuttle landings and today’s Falcon 9 RTLS missions such as Crew-8 on March 3, 2024.
From the DAF-supplied information packet:
Starship would fly from 40º – 115º from its launch mount, which is a typical range of azimuths for Eastern Range Rockets
Why Not Stay In Texas?
SpaceX’s launch facility in Texas at Boca Chica has a limited acceptable set of trajectories available to it — Florida is to the East, Texas and the Gulf states are to the north, and Cuba and other land masses are to the south.
Two paths from Boca Chica would would avoid overflight of most far downrange landmasses, though they may also require performance reducing “dogleg” maneuvers to avoid other landmasses and achieve proper orbit. The red areas show previous Falcon 9 drop zones. Cape Canaveral can accommodate a much more diverse set of launch inclinations without overflying populated areas.
For test launches, Starship plans to thread a launch path over the Gulf of Mexico and then to orbit. From the Eastern Range, a much wider set of trajectories are available due to the Atlantic Ocean being mostly devoid of people or property over a much wider area.
All things considered, Starship operations from the Eastern Range and the Cape is a preferable destination for SpaceX and for NASA.
Potential Economic Impact For The Space Coast?
Starship launches from the Eastern Range could easily bring billions of dollars in economic activity to the Space Coast region: SpaceX launch support jobs at the Cape, along with the associated jobs that are created to support the families of those workers, and of course tourism.
As a major Starship launch port, the Space Coast would cement itself now and in the future as the starting point for space launches of all types. The area has seen boom and bust in its history, and having the most dominant commercial space company in the world using Cape Canaveral Space Force station as its main operational site would all but ensure a prosperous future for the area.
Local Public Hearings Scheduled
The public has been invited to have their say about the proposed alternatives:
Talk of Titusville strongly encourages interested members of the public to participate in these meetings. As the leading company for launch services in the world, much of the Space Coast’s economic future rests on this decision.
Next Steps
February 16, 2024
After making the announcement and holding public hearings in March, the EIS will then conduct studies and prepare a draft release of the EIS in Winter 2024. Being that there is only one winter month in December, that indicates that the draft EIS is due that month. That is not set in stone, however, so stay tuned for an announcement of specially when that date may be.
Timelapse of the flight path of Falcon 9 carrying NASA CLPS / Intuitive Machines IM-1 lunar lander to orbit on February 15, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
A rarity is becoming commonplace lately here on the Space Coast, as SpaceX successfully launched two Falcon 9 rockets within eight hours of each other from the Eastern Range, returning both safely to the ground at the company’s Cape Canaveral landing zones.
First up was USSF-124, carrying a military payload for the US Space Force, and the second was Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 NASA CLPS mission to the moon.
USSF-124 launches aboard Falcon 9 on February 14, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
NASA CLPS / Intuitive Machines IM-1
At 1:05 AM EST, SpaceX launched NASA CLPS payload to orbit from launch pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center l aboard a Falcon 9. Approximately eight and one-half minutes later, the first stage touched down safely at Landing Zone 1 at CCSFS, approximately 8.8 miles from where it had launched minutes earlier.
After safely reaching orbit, the Intuitive Machines ‘Odysseus’ lander deployed from the Falcon 9 second stage, completing SpaceX’s part of the mission. Shortly afterward, IM confirmed Odysseus had contacted the company’s mission operations center in Houston and that the spacecraft was stable and receiving solar power.
NASA Administrator Statement
Odysseus will make a nine-day journey to the Moon, after which is will attempt to be the first successful American soft-landing on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972. In a press release on February 15, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “NASA scientific instruments are on their way to the Moon – a giant leap for humanity as we prepare to return to the lunar surface for the first time in more than half a century,”
He added, “These daring Moon deliveries will not only conduct new science at the Moon, but they are supporting a growing commercial space economy while showing the strength of American technology and innovation. We have so much to learn through CLPS flights that will help us shape the future of human exploration for the Artemis Generation.”
As part of Project Artemis, in May 2019, the agency awarded a task order for scientific payload delivery to Intuitive Machines to build and fly Odysseus and IM-1. The spacecraft will “Demonstrate autonomous navigation,” according to a press release from NASA.
Odysseus’s Destination
The landing site selected for this mission is Malapert A, a satellite crater to Malapert, a 69 km crater in the Moon’s south pole region. Named after Charles Malapert, a 17th-century Belgian astronomer, the area around the landing site is believed to be made of lunar highland material, similar to Apollo 16’s landing site in the in the Descartes Highlands.
The Malapert and Shackleton regions on the lunar surface as captured by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Photo: NASA
NASA said that “the Lunar Node-1 experiment, or LN-1, is a radio beacon designed to support precise geolocation and navigation observations for landers, surface infrastructure, and astronauts, digitally confirming their positions on the Moon relative to other craft, ground stations, or rovers on the move. These radio beacons can also be used in space to help with orbital maneuvers and guide landers to a successful touchdown on the lunar surface.”
At roughly 11:00 PM EST Wednesday evening, some two hours before the planned liftoff, the countdown was halted on SpaceX’s planned Falcon 9 launch of Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 Mission to carry their Nova-C lander ‘Odysseus’ to orbit and on its way to the Moon. Launch had been planned for 12:57 AM EST on Wednesday, February 14, 2024.
In a post on the X platform, SpaceX stated that the reason for the delay was “due to off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load.” Presumably that methane load was for the Nova-C lander, as Falcon 9 relies on RP-1 and liquid oxygen as its propellants and does not use methane in its operations.
SpaceX added that the next available opportunity for this launch is Thursday, February 15th at 1:05 AM EST.
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.
The launch will be the second for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payloads Services program. The first was Astrobotic Technology’s Peregrine lunar lander which flew on the maiden launch of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket — it was launched successfully, but experienced propulsion system issues and was not able to attempt a landing. It instead re-entered Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean and burned up after completing as many experiments as possible during its ill-fated journey.
NASA, Intuitive Machines will of course be hoping for a different outcome on this mission.
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX, NASA and Intuitive Machines are planning to launch the NASA CLPS IM-1 lunar lander Odysseus tonight at Kennedy Space Center from Pad LC-39A at 12:57 AM EST. The launch, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, aims to be the first successful American soft-landing on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Following the launch, the booster being used for the mission will return to land at LZ-1 in Cape Canaveral, and will herald its return with a sonic boom that will be heard across the Space Coast region.
That’s the first of two launches scheduled for Valentine’s Day. The second is USSF-124, launching from SpaceX’s pad SLC-40 Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This mission’s launch window extends from 5:30 PM until 10:00 PM EST and is also an RTLS mission.
Launch Weather Outlook: NASA CLPS IM-1
First, the early launch, NASA CLPS/IM-1: the 45th Weather Squadron of the US Space Force is predicting a low Probability of Violation for the planned liftoff at 12:57 AM EST: only 5%. That means they are expecting a 95% chance of acceptable conditions for liftoff.
NASA CLPS IM-1 Trajectory
As is customary for most missions beyond Earth orbit, NASA CLPS IM-1 will take an easterly path from KSC after liftoff. People watching the launch in person should be able to see the reentry burn and if in the right place, the landing burn of Falcon 9 as it returns to land.
A Falcon 9 Booster landing at LZ-1 in 2023 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Launch Weather Outlook: USSF-124
The weather gets even better for the second planned launch of the day, according to the 45th Weather Wing: less than a 5% Probability of Violation, meaning a 95+% chance of acceptable weather conditions at liftoff.
USSF-124 Trajectory
Also eastward. Again, in-person launch viewers should be able to see the reentry burn and if in the right place, the landing burn of Falcon 9 as it returns to land.
SpaceX has not announced which landing pad they will utilize for this launch — either LZ-2, or perhaps the Falcon 9 used for LM-1 will be removed in time for USSF-124. Either way, to launch viewers off of the base itself, the landing will be in the same general direction.
Falcon 9 lifting off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2023. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
IM-1, the first NASA Commercial Launch Program Services launch for Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander, will carry multiple payloads to the Moon, including Lunar Node-1, demonstrating autonomous navigation via radio beacon to support precise geolocation and navigation among lunar orbiters, landers, and surface personnel. NASA’s CLPS initiative oversees industry development of small robotic landers and rovers to support NASA’s Artemis campaign. Photo: NASA / Intuitive Machines
Shortly after midnight this Wednesday, the next NASA CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) lunar lander is set to begin its trip to the moon’s surface aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. Launch time is scheduled for 12:57 AM EST, from Pad LC-39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The lander was built by Intuitive Machines, a Houston-based company, and is named “Odysseus.” The mission designation is IM-1. Assuming a successful flight to orbit and post-launch vehicle checkouts, IM-1 will undertake a nine-day trip to the moon, where it will then attempt to be the first successful American soft-landing on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972.
As part of Project Artemis, in May 2019, the agency awarded a task order for scientific payload delivery to Intuitive Machines to build and fly Odysseus and IM-1. The spacecraft will “Demonstrate autonomous navigation,” according to a press release from NASA.
Malapert massif (informal name) is thought to be a remnant of the South Pole – Aitken basin rim, which formed more than 4 billion years ago. More recently, this magnificent peak (lower left) was selected as an Artemis 3 candidate landing region. Image is 25 kilometers wide in the center, Narrow Angle Camera M1432398306LR Photo: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
The landing site selected for this mission is Malapert A, a satellite crater to Malapert, a 69 km crater in the Moon’s south pole region. Named after Charles Malapert, a 17th-century Belgian astronomer, the area around the landing site is believed to be made of lunar highland material, similar to Apollo 16’s landing site in the in the Descartes Highlands.
NASA said that “the Lunar Node-1 experiment, or LN-1, is a radio beacon designed to support precise geolocation and navigation observations for landers, surface infrastructure, and astronauts, digitally confirming their positions on the Moon relative to other craft, ground stations, or rovers on the move. These radio beacons also can be used in space to help with orbital maneuvers and with guiding landers to a successful touchdown on the lunar surface.”
Odysseus will then have seven days to complete experiments on the lunar surface before the lunar night sets on the south pole of the Moon, rendering the spacecraft inoperable.
Utility of Lunar Node-1
“Imagine getting verification from a lighthouse on the shore you’re approaching, rather than waiting on word from the home port you left days earlier,” said Evan Anzalone, principal investigator of LN-1 and a navigation systems engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “What we seek to deliver is a lunar network of lighthouses, offering sustainable, localized navigation assets that enable lunar craft and ground crews to quickly and accurately confirm their position instead of relying on Earth.”
Intuitive Machines Leadership
Intuitive Machines was founded by CEO Steve Altemus in 2013, along with CTO Tim Crain, Stephen Altemus, and Kam Ghaffarian (a cofounder of Axiom Space) and is a publicly traded company.
Altemus is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach and holds an M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Central Florida. He is also a former Shuttle program employee working in operations, launch, and landing activities prior to leaving to Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston where he served as a Deputy Director of Engineering.
Ghaffarian holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science and Electronics Engineering, an M.Sc. in Information Management, and a PhD in Management Information Systems. He has worked for Lockheed Martin on various NASA contracts, Loral Space, and as an entrepreneur, Ghaffarian co-founded Axiom Space, IBX, X-energy, and Quantum Space in addition to Intuitive Machines. He is also a philanthropist promoting STEM education.
Crain holds a Bachelor’s, M.S. and Ph.D. in Aerospace engineering, and like Altemus is a NASA employee where he worked as an aerospace engineer, a strategic advisor and as the Guidance, Navigation and Control Lead for the Morpheus Vertical Test Bed, a prototype planetary lander capable of vertical takeoff and landing.
Falcon 9 lifting off with NASA’s PACE satellite aboard. Photo: Charles Boyer
After two delays due to high winds, SpaceX launched the PACE Earth-observing satellite to orbit from Cape Canaveral this morning. Seven and one half minutes later, Booster 1081 announced its return to the Space Coast with a sonic boom moments after safely touching down, completing its fourth flight.
Screen-capture of SpaceX livestream of the AX3 reentry and splashdown. This shot was captured a few minutes after the capsule had landed safely. Photo: SpaceX
The Axiom-3 mission has ended safely off the Florida coast near Daytona Beach. Michael López-Alegría, Commander of the the AX3 mission, reported a few minutes after the splashdown “flying SpaceX was our pleasure” and that “all four crew members are feeling well.”
SpaceX ground controllers were also pleased by the safe landing, telling the crew, “Thank you for flying SpaceX!”
Several Space Coast area residents reported that while the reentry was largely obscured by clouds overhead, they could definitely hear a sonic boom that heralded the return of Crew Dragon.
Historian and host of the podcast “Space And Things” Emily Carney told Talk of Titusville that she heard the sonic boom on the other side of Florida, “I could hear the sonic booms all the way in Saint Petersburg – they woke me up, they were quite impressive. I checked my newsfeed to verify Ax-3 was returning and that was the culprit!”
Winds Delayed Landing
Originally slated to land last weekend, the Axiom-3 return to Earth had been delayed several days due to inclement weather off both sides of the Florida peninsula. High winds also affected the timing of the liftoff of NASA’s PACE mission this week. The winds finally relented and allowed both the launch and the splashdown on Thursday and today, respectively, and both missions were completed successfully: PACE is on orbit and Axiom-3’s astronauts are back on the Earth.
Screen-capture of SpaceX livestream of the AX3 splashdown. Photo: SpaceX
Next Steps
Crew Dragon Freedom will then return to Port Canaveral in Florida and astronauts will undergo post-flight health checks and debriefing. The capsule will return to Space X’s facilities at Kennedy Space Center for analysis, checkouts and hopefully refurbishment for the next mission.
Experiments performed by the crew aboard ISS will also be analyzed, a process that could extend for several months.
We reached out to Axiom Space to ascertain when a potential Axiom-4 mission could take place, and they told us, “NASA and Axiom Space have signed a mission order for the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch no earlier than October 2024 from the agency’s NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.” On today’s SpaceX livestream, commentators mentioned that they were looking forward to working with the Axiom for that mission.
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off with NASA’s PACE satellite on February 8, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
After two delays due to high winds, SpaceX launched the PACE Earth-observing satellite to orbit from Cape Canaveral this morning. Seven and one half minutes later, Booster 1081 announced its return to the Space Coast with a sonic boom moments after safely touching down, completing its fourth flight.
The launch was the eighth for the Eastern Range this year, the 223rd orbital attempt from SLC-40, and the 923rd from Cape Canaveral.
According the Tim Dunn of NASA’s Launch Services Program, and the launch director for tonight’s flight, “PACE is the eighth NASA LSP mission to launch on a SpaceX rocket, and the first government mission to fly a polar trajectory from the Cape since November of 1960.”
SpaceX has flown polar missions commercially 11 times, Dunn added. Today’s launch was the twelfth such mission.
From the Kennedy Space Center Press Site, photographer Ed Cordero caught this incredibly detailed B&W photo of SpaceX’s launch of PACE last night. You can see the engine nozzles on Falcon 9 as it ascends from the launch pad. Photo: Ed Cordero, Florida Media Now
In a press release from NASA issued early this morning, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “Congratulations to the PACE team on a successful launch. With this new addition to NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites, PACE will help us learn, like never before, how particles in our atmosphere and our oceans can identify key factors impacting global warming.”
After separation from the second stage, Falcon 9 put on a spectacular display over the skies of the Space Coast. Photo: Richard Gallagher, Florida Media Now
Next Up For PACE
Following the successful launch, according to NASA , next up for PACE is a PLAR, or Post-Launch Assessment review. “The PLAR is conducted following the launch, typically after the early flight operations and initial checkout.”
“At the PLAR, the PACE project demonstrates to the review panel, the readiness of the spacecraft systems to proceed with full, routine operations; status, performance, and capabilities of the project as evidenced from the flight operations experience since launch; readiness to transfer responsibility from the development organization to the operations organization; project plans and the capability to conduct the mission with emphasis on near-term operations and mission-critical events.”
Assuming a healthy spacecraft, after the PLAR, PACE is expected to begin operations later this coming spring.
PACE Mission
According to NASA, “PACE’s data will help us better understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide. In addition, it will reveal how aerosols might fuel phytoplankton growth in the surface ocean. Novel uses of PACE data will benefit our economy and society. For example, it will help identify the extent and duration of harmful algal blooms. PACE will extend and expand NASA’s long-term observations of our living planet. By doing so, it will take Earth’s pulse in new ways for decades to come.”
Dr. Karen St. Germain, Director of NASA’s Earth Sciences Division
Prior to the launch, Dr. Karen St. Germain, the director of NASA’s Earth Science Division said, “The surface of the Earth is covered 70% by oceans and yet in many ways we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about our own oceans. PACE will be the most advanced mission we’ve ever launched to study ocean biology.”
She added that PACE “will join SWOT [that] we launched a little over a year ago that’s giving us the most detailed view we’ve ever had of the physical oceanography, [of] how water is moving in our oceans and that is very closely related to what PACE will tell about what’s living in our oceans.”
Booster
SpaceX used Booster 1081 for this mission, its fourth mission.
Flight
Date
Mission
Launch Pad
Result
1
26 August 2023
Crew-7
LC-39A
Success
2
10 November 2023
CRS-29
LC-39A
Success
3
19 December 2023
Starlink 6-34
SLC-40
Success
4
08 February 2024
NASA PACE
SLC-40
Success
Booster 1081 launch record as of 2/8/2024
After post-landing checkouts, the booster will be returned to Hangar X at Kennedy Space Center for inspection and ostensibly for needed refurbishment and preparations needed to ready it for its next launch.
Next Launch
On February 14th NASA CLPS / Intuitive Machines IM-1 is scheduled to launch from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center aboard a Falcon 9 booster. The listed launch time is 12:57 AM EST.
Challenges For A South Texas Spaceport.pdf
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