HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Intuitive Machines announced Oct. 27 that’s has pushed back the launch of its first lunar lander mission by two months to mid-January.
In an announcement issued after the markets closed, the corporate said its IM-1 mission is now scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 in a “multi-day” window that opens Jan. 12 from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. The mission had been scheduled to launch in a six-day window that opened Nov. 16.
“There are inherent challenges of lunar missions; schedule changes and mission adjustments are a natural consequence of pioneering lunar exploration,” Steve Altemus, chief executive of Intuitive Machines, said in an announcement. “Receiving a launch window and the required approvals to fly is a remarkable achievement, and the schedule adjustment is a small price to pay for making history.”
The corporate didn’t elaborate on the explanations for the delay. Nevertheless, executives warned at a media event Oct. 3 that “pad congestion” at LC-39A could delay their launch. The mission has to launch from that pad, quite than nearby Space Launch Complex 40, because only LC-39A is provided to fuel the lander with methane and liquid oxygen propellants on the pad shortly before liftoff.
That pad is used for Falcon 9 crew and cargo missions to the International Space Station in addition to Falcon Heavy launches. The pad is scheduled to host the Falcon 9 launch of the CRS-29 cargo mission Nov. 5 followed by a Falcon Heavy mission for the Space Force in late November. Converting the pad between Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches can take up to a few weeks.
In its statement, Intuitive Machines didn’t provide an update on the status of the lander. The corporate said at its Oct. 3 event that the lander was complete and had passed a “pre-ship review” the day before.
IM-1 is the primary flight of the corporate’s Nova-C lander. The 675-kilogram lander is carrying five payloads for NASA as a part of the agency’s Business Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program and 6 industrial payloads, starting from artwork to a camera that may detach in the course of the lander’s final descent to take images because the lander touches down.
IM-1 is targeted to land seven days after launch within the vicinity of Malapert A, a crater within the south polar region of the moon. The spacecraft will operate for nearly two weeks, until the tip of the lunar day deprives the lander of power.
The delay signifies that the primary CLPS mission scheduled to launch is now Astrobotic’s Peregrine. That lander is scheduled to launch Dec. 24 on the inaugural flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur. Astrobotic said Oct. 27 that Peregrine has left its Pittsburgh headquarters and its on its approach to Florida for pre-launch processing.