HAMBURG, Germany — As Intuitive Machines prepares for the launch of its first lunar lander mission, the corporate says it’s planning for up to a few lander launches in 2024.
In a Nov. 13 earnings call to debate the corporate’s third quarter financial results, the corporate confirmed it’s working towards a Jan. 12 launch of its IM-1 mission on a Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Center.
That launch slipped from mid-November, and in the decision executives strongly suggested, but didn’t explicitly state, that “launch pad congestion” at KSC’s Launch Complex 39A was the explanation for the delay. IM-1 must launch from that pad since it is the just one equipped to fuel the lander with methane and liquid oxygen shortly before liftoff.
“Schedule changes and mission adjustments are a natural consequence of pioneering lunar exploration,” Steve Altemus, chief executive of Intuitive Machines, said on the decision. The corporate, he described, was using the delay “smartly” to do testing of the Nova-C lander now that was previously planned to happen on the launch site, with the spacecraft scheduled to ship to Florida later within the month.
A launch on Jan. 12 would arrange the spacecraft for a landing attempt on the moon Jan. 19. While IM-1 is now scheduled to launch after Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander, slated to lift off on the inaugural Vulcan Centaur Dec. 24, it could land before Peregrine, which is taking a less direct trajectory to the moon. Altemus said in the decision that he understood that, if Peregrine launches on time, it will attempt its landing Jan. 20, a day after IM-1.
Nevertheless, a spokesperson for Astrobotic said Nov. 13 that the date he gave was incorrect, and that the corporate would only announce a planned landing date after the launch. In a separate presentation at NASA’s Planetary Science Advisory Committee Nov. 13, Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s planetary science division, said the landing of Peregrine was expected “towards the tip of January.” Each Peregrine and IM-1 are carrying payloads for NASA through its Industrial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
Intuitive Machines is working on two more Nova-C landers for its IM-2 and IM-3 missions, also carrying NASA CLPS payloads. The corporate has not announced launch dates for those missions, but Altemus said he hoped each could happen by the tip of 2024.
“We’re planning three missions in 2024,” he said, which can depend partially on NASA’s requirements in addition to orbital dynamics. Landings on the south polar region of the moon, the goal for IM-2, are linked to “seasons” where lighting conditions are optimal for lander operations. IM-3, he said, would occur “a number of months” after IM-2.
He said the corporate continues to be working to finalize payloads for those landers, particularly those what would fly as rideshares, making the most of additional capability for the launch beyond the lander itself. NASA, for instance, is flying its Lunar Trailblazer smallsat orbiter as a rideshare on IM-2. “We’re moving those around and adjusting them as payload customers are keenly curious about taking rideshare out this far into space,” he said.
Intuitive Machines announced Nov. 13 that it recently signed a $16.8 million contract with an unidentified “international space agency” to supply lunar rover services on a future mission. Altemus described that award as its largest international payload contract so far, but offered no additional details concerning the deal.
Despite broader budget pressures facing NASA, he said he saw continued support for CLPS during recent meetings with congressional staffers, including those on appropriations committees. That, he argued, comes from a desire to have a daily series of lunar landing missions whilst Artemis crewed landings face delays.
“CLPS offers a possibility for NASA to have this cadence of missions and activities towards the moon,” he said. “We’ve very encouraged concerning the House and the Senate commitment to CLPS and the Artemis program and, the best way it’s structuring now, CLPS is able to serve in covering any gaps that occur from delays within the Artemis program.”
Intuitive Machines reported $12.7 million in revenue within the third quarter, up from $10.3 million in the identical quarter of 2022. The corporate reported an operating lack of $23.2 million within the quarter versus an $11.8 million loss in the identical quarter of 2022. The corporate ended the quarter with $40.7 million of money available.