THE NEW SPACE RACE: Elon Musk’s SpaceX could launch a private moon lander within weeks.
The robotic Nova-C spacecraft was encapsulated inside the payload fairing of its SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket today (Jan. 31) to prep for liftoff, which is right around the corner.
“As our combined teams closed the two fairing halves, I saw the lunar lander for the last time on Earth,” Trent Martin, vice president for space systems at the Houston company Intuitive Machines, which built the lander, said during a call with reporters this afternoon.
Launch, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Florida’s Space Coast, will occur during a three-day window in mid-February, if all goes according to plan. SpaceX and Intuitive Machines have not yet announced what those dates are, though Martin said today that Nova-C’s lunar landing try will take place on Feb. 22 regardless of which day it takes flight.
If launch cannot occur during the February window, the next opportunity will come in March.
The coming mission, called IM-1, aims to put Nova-C down near an impact crater called Malapert A, which lies within 10 degrees latitude of the moon’s south pole. This area is of great interest to scientists and exploration advocates, for it’s thought to harbor large amounts of water ice.
That would make Malapert A an extremely valuable piece of lunar real estate.
Related (from Ed): Jeff Bezos is also doing his bit to advance 21st century rocketry:
A louder rumble in Rocket City! We just completed our first BE-4 engine hotfire test at the historic Test Stand 4670 in Huntsville. We also continue to test BE-4 engines at our Texas facility. The BE-4 engine produces 550,000 pounds of thrust and is our most powerful engine yet. pic.twitter.com/iyLb3p67PE
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) February 2, 2024