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.”
Falcon 9 lifts off to begin the Starlink 6-39 mission today at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Pad SLC-40. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 today from Pad SLC-40 and sent another twenty-four Starlink satellites to orbit. Liftoff occurred at 5:06 PM EST on what might best be described as a “travel brochure day” — crystal clear skies, with a light breeze and temperatures in the high 60s. In other words, the sort of winter day in Florida draws many tourists because the weather is darn near perfect.
Booster Touches Down Safely
About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, Booster B1069 touched down safely on SpaceX’s A Shortfall of Gravitas automated droneship located offshore in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas. It was the booster’s fourteenth flight since it went into service on December 21, 2021, launching the CRS-24 mission to ferry supplies to the International Space Station.
Shortly before staging, Falcon 9 flies high above the Florida coastline today. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
After returning to Port Canaveral several days from now, Booster B1069 will be returned to SpaceX’s facilities at Hangar X at Kennedy Space Center, where it will be inspected, refurbished, and presumably prepared for its next flight.
Falcon 9 Performance Boosts
In a post on the X platform today, SpaceX noted that today’s “mission [was] carrying one additional Starlink satellite from previous East Coast missions thanks in part to performance increases on Falcon 9.”
Picture Perfect Launch
Initially scheduled for yesterday, today’s launch was the second attempt to complete the Starlink 6-39 mission. Crowds of spectators lined the parks on US-1 in Titusville, the beaches and along FL-528W to watch the liftoff, and weren’t disappointed by the views they could see. Falcon 9 was visible all the way through first stage and slightly afterwards, which is a rare site for a daytime launch.
Next Launch
It will be a busy week at the Eastern Range, so long as the weather cooperates: SpaceX will launch another batch of Starlink satellites to orbit on Wednesday, February 28th, with the Starlink 6-40 mission slated to liftoff between 11:00 AM and 2:31 PM EST from Pad SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Not long after that, at 12:04 AM EST on Friday, March 1st, Crew-8 will head to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 from pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center.
A Falcon 9 rising off of SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral in January. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX plans to send a Falcon 9 carrying another tranche of Starlink satellites to low-earth orbit (LEO) tomorrow from SLC-40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch window opens at 4:59 PM EST and extends until 8:57 PM the same day.
Weather
The 45th Weather Squadron issued their forecast of the Probability of Violation of weather criteria today. They rated the POV at less than five percent, meaning there is a greater than ninety-five percent of acceptable conditions.
Trajectory
Southeast, which is the normal flight path for Group 6 Starlink satellites.
Booster
SpaceX has not announced which booster will be used for this flight at the time of this writing. When that information becomes available, we will add it here.
Landing
Landing will occur on ASDS (Automated Spaceport Drone Ship) A Shortfall of Gravitas, which will be stationed offshore and downrange. After Falcon 9’s booster lands safely aboard the vessel, it will return to Port Canaveral and then to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center for inspection and presumably refurbishment and preparation for its next flight.
Launch Viewing: Online
SpaceX generally provides live launch coverage starting fifteen minutes prior to launch on their account on the X platform. Click here
Spaceflight Now will provide launch coverage one hour prior to liftoff on their YouTube channel. Click here
Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor’s Center has not offered a specific ticket package for this launch, but the first minute of the launch window is the last minute that the Center is open for the day. No viewing tickets or information has been posted, but check with the KSCVC site for up-to-date information. Admission and parking fees will of course apply if the Center is open for viewing.
Indirect views where the rocket becomes visible after it clears the pad and the trees in the distance are at Jetty Park in Port Canaveral, Playalinda Beach in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge or of course on any of the beaches in the Cape Canaveral / Cocoa Beach area.
Launch viewing at Playalinda may be possible as the Cape Canaveral National Seashore closes at 6 PM EST. If you go there, arriving two hours early is strongly advised, as the National Park Service and KSC Police will close the gates to new entrants once parking lots are full or as liftoff time approaches. Entry fees apply to Jetty Park and Playalinda, consult their websites for the cost and payment methods available.
Odysseus passes over the near side of the Moon following lunar orbit insertion on 21FEB2024. The lander continues to be in excellent health in lunar orbit.
Intuitive Machines has confirmed that the IM-1 Nova-C class lunar lander “Odysseus” touched down on the surface of the Moon today, sometime around 6:30 PM EST. The exact time of touchdown is not yet known, as the company has not yet downloaded and released data from the spacecraft.
The last lunar landing for an American spacecraft on the Moon was December 11th 1972. That was 51 years, 1 months and 26 days ago, which is 18,684 days. Today, Intuitive Machines and Odysseus ended that long gap.
Troubles On The Way Down
The landing was not without its issues, and some of those issues remain to be rectified at the time of this writing. First, there were LASER issues that forced a software patch and rerouting of signals for the autonomous landing system. Those were completed in the last two hours of lunar orbit, and according to live commentary from NASA-TV, the fix worked satisfactorily during the final descent to the surface.
Then after the expected landing time, a longer period of uncertainty than expected about Odysseus’s fate occurred because of what was an initial loss of radio communications between the lander and mission control in Houston.
Intuitive Machines infographic describing the landing sequence of Nova-C Odysseus Graphic courtesy Intuitive Machines
Uncertainty After Landing
Flight controllers reassessed the last data they received from Odysseus, and found an unexpected 8-degree roll from the spacecraft, leading many viewers to fear the worst. IM engineers and flight controllers continued working the problem, and at one point, Intuitive Machines CTO Tim Crain announced “”We’re not dead yet!”
Not long afterwards, Crain gave some welcome news when he said, “We do have signal that we’re tracking.” That meant that Odysseus was on the lunar surface and that it was transmitting, a good sign that the landing was successful enough for the spacecraft to attempt to communicate with Earth. Crain added moments later “We have a signal from our high-gain antenna. It’s faint but it’s there.”
Then, after what must have seemed like an eternity to Intuitive Machines employees, Crain clarified by saying “We can confirm without a doubt that we are on the surface of the moon and that we are transmitting.”
Screen capture of NASA’s live stream showing Intuitive Machines employees celebrating the landing.
Finally, the announcement everyone was waiting for: “Houston, Odysseus has found his new home.”
At 8:25 PM EST, Intuitive Machines released the news everyone who had lingering doubts was waiting to hear:
“After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data. Right now, we are working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface.”
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson commented after the landing that “Today, for the first time in half a century, America has returned to the Moon. On the eighth day of a quarter-million-mile voyage, Intuitive Machines aced the landing of a lifetime. What a feat for IM, SpaceX and NASA.
“What a triumph for humanity.
“Odysseus has taken the Moon.”
Indeed.
What’s Up Next?
IM and its team will no doubt be working diligently to assess Odysseus’s health and begin the slate of experiments planned for the mission.
After that, hopefully we will see photographs and video from Odysseus, including the Embry-Riddle EagleCam, which was ejected from the descending lander and providing the first-ever third-party view of an extraterrestrial spacecraft landing.
It’s more than fair to say that the work is just beginning and that NASA, the Artemis Project, all of the students and researchers involved and those of us interested parties in the general will all be learning a great deal over the next few days.
The Moon, as seen from Kennedy Space Center, the launch site of Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 Nova-C lander “Odysseus.” Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
NASA and Intuitive Machines are planning to land the IM-1 Nova-C lunar lander “Odysseus” on the moon’s surface tomorrow, and so far, everything is going well for the mission.
IM has been remarkably transparent and informative throughout the duration of the mission so far, and have been issuing daily updates on the vehicle status and their activities as Odysseus travels cislunar space.
Mission Status on February 21: In Orbit Around The Moon
IM issued a late update with a new landing time late this afternoon:
Flight controllers analyzed the post-Lunar Orbit Insertion engine burn data and updated the anticipated flight maneuver timing, including an expected 1630 CST landing opportunity on Thursday. The landing opportunity will be Odysseus’ hardest challenge yet. The lander continues to be in excellent health, orbiting approximately 92 km above the lunar surface. (21FEB2024 1645 CST)
IM has issed on update at 09:20 AM CST (10:20 local time):
Odysseus completed its scheduled 408-second main engine lunar orbit insertion burn and is currently in a 92 km circular lunar orbit. Initial data indicates the 800 m/s burn was completed within 2 m/s accuracy.
After traveling over 1,000,000 km, Odysseus is now closer to the Moon than the end-to-end distance driving across Space City, Houston, TX.
Over the next day, while the lander remains in lunar orbit, flight controllers will analyze the complete flight data and transmit imagery of the Moon.
Yesterday, IM issued an update at 4:00 PM CST (5:00 PM local time):
Intuitive Machines flight controllers commanded the IM-1 mission’s second planned Trajectory Correction Maneuver (TCM) with enough precision to eliminate the need for the initially planned third TCM engine firing.
Today’s TCM fired at 1400 CST for 8 seconds, and it is the final maneuver before Odysseus’ largest challenge to date, Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI), scheduled for February 21, 2024. Odysseus continues to be in excellent health and is approximately 68,000 km from the Moon. Over the next several hours, flight controllers will continue to analyze the flight data ahead of LOI.
Once the spacecraft achieves lunar orbit, mission controllers can begin final preparations for the landing attempt. That landing is currently scheduled for no earlier than 5:49 PM EST.
Landing Zone
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 Descartes Highlands.
Oblique image showing the IM-1 landing area, acquired from an altitude of 78 kilometers with a slew angle of 64° on 2023-04-02. North is to the right, 57 kilometers wide at the center, LROC NAC M1435077792LR Photo: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University
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.”
Landing Coverage
Live landing coverage will air on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning around an hour before the anticipated landing attempt.
Upon successful landing, Intuitive Machines and NASA will host a news conference to discuss the mission and science opportunities ahead as the company begins lunar surface operations.
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off February 20, 2024 carrying the HTS 113BT satellite Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX successfully launched the HTS 113BT telecommunications satellite to orbit from Cape Canaveral this afternoon at 3:11 PM EST for Indonesian company PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk. Around eight and one-half minutes later, Booster 1067 safely touched down on SpaceX’s Automated Spaceport Droneship “Just Read The Instructions,” (JRTI) which was located offshore in the Atlantic Ocean.
Falcon 9 in flight on February 20, 2024. Photo: Ed Cordero / Florida Media Now
JRTI is set to return to Port Canaveral several days from now, and the booster will be returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center for inspection, refurbishment and preparation for a potential 18th flight.
HTS 113BT At A Glance
HTS 113BT will replace the lost Palapa N1 (Nusantara 2) satellite. It was launched in April 2020, aboard a Long March-3B/G2 (Chang Zheng-3B/G2) rocket. The launch took place at 11:46 UTC from the LC2 pad at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, but a reported third stage failure prevented the mission from being completed, and Palapa N1 re-entered Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated shortly afterwards.
Once commissioned, according to Thales, the company that built HTS 113BT, the satellite will “provide more than 32 Gbps capacity over Indonesia. The satellite [weighed] about 4 metric tons at launch and will be delivered early 2024 for a 15-year expected lifetime.”
Successful 17th Mission for B1067
Today’s launch was the 17th flight for SpaceX Falcon 9 Booster 1067, which entered service in 2021 when it launched the ISS Commercial Resupply mission CRS-22.
Booster 1067
Flight Number
Mission
Date
1
CRS-22
June 21, 2021
2
NASA Crew-3
November 11, 2021
3
Türksat 5B
December 19, 2021
4
NASA Crew-4
April 27, 2022
5
CRS-25
July 14, 2022
6
Starlink 4-34
September 19, 2022
7
Hotbird 13G
November 3, 2022
8
O3b mPOWER 1 & 2
December 16, 2022
9
Starlink 5-2
January 26, 2023
10
Starlink 5-5
March 24, 2023
11
Starlink 5-9
May 14, 2023
12
Satria-1
June 18, 2023
13
Starlink 6-10
August 17, 2023
14
Starlink 6-22
October 13, 2023
15
Starlink 6-29
November 22, 2023
16
Starlink 6-35
January 7, 2024
17
HTS 113BT
February 20, 2024
Next Launch
Next up from the Eastern Range (CCSFS and KSC) is Starlink 6-39, SpaceX’s next batch of satellites for its orbital-based Internet service. The launch window extends from 4:59 PM – 9:30 PM EST and will be from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
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.
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.
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