WASHINGTON — Intuitive Machines said Dec. 19 it’s delaying the launch of its first lunar lander mission a month to mid-February, citing changes in SpaceX’s launch manifest.
The Houston-based company had been planning a launch of its IM-1 mission in a window between Jan. 12 and 16 on a Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. That pad is the one one which can support the launch since it has equipment to fuel the lander with liquid oxygen and methane propellants on the pad shortly before launch.
In an announcement, Intuitive Machines said that it agreed with SpaceX to delay the launch to the following available window in mid-February, saying that “unfavorable weather conditions resulted in shifts within the SpaceX launch manifest.”
That’s an apparent reference to the Falcon Heavy launch of the U.S. military’s X-37B spaceplane, which had been scheduled for earlier within the month. That launch has now slipped to no sooner than Dec. 28, although that delay is primarily resulting from technical issues with the rocket and never weather.
Converting LC-39A from Falcon Heavy to Falcon 9 is a process that takes, on average, about three weeks, based on the time between the 4 Falcon Heavy launches to date this 12 months and subsequent Falcon 9 launches on that pad. Even the shortest gap, about 17 days, would push the IM-1 launch towards the tip of its window.
Intuitive Machines said its lander, which was shipped to Florida earlier within the month, has accomplished various pre-launch processing milestones and is able to be integrated onto the Falcon 9 rocket.
The corporate had hoped to launch IM-1 in mid-November and displayed the finished lander at a media event at its Houston headquarters in early October. Nonetheless, company officials warned on the time of “pad congestion” and, on Oct. 27, the corporate announced it was delaying the launch to a window that opened Jan. 12. Intuitive Machines didn’t give an in depth explanation for the delay but, in a later earnings call, strongly suggested that launch pad conflicts caused the slip.
Intuitive Machines didn’t provide a more specific launch period for IM-1 beyond mid-February. A launch between Jan. 12 and 16 would have arrange a landing on Jan. 19 or 21, taking a comparatively direct trajectory to the moon and orbiting for less than a short while before attempting a landing within the vicinity of Malapert A, a crater within the lunar south polar region.
The revised plans for Intuitive Machines could mean that there are two lunar landings days apart in February. Astrobotic announced Dec. 19 that its Peregrine lander is prepared for a launch as soon as Jan. 8 on the primary United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur. That might arrange a landing attempt by Peregrine on Feb. 23. Each Peregrine and IM-1 are carrying business payloads in addition to those provided by NASA through its Industrial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program under awards made in 2019.