“They’re looking at a pretty aggressive launch schedule this year.” SpaceX’s second Starship rocket is seen on the launch pad at its Starbase facility in South Texas. As SpaceX nears its first Starship launch of 2024—possibly as soon as within
[22 Feb 2024] U.S. lands unmanned Odysseus spacecraft on moon
An image of the moon’s northern equatorial highlands taken by Odysseus – GETTY IMAGES The Intuitive Machines Odysseus lunar lander is the first American spacecraft to land on the moon since Apollo 17 did so more than 50 years ago.
[21 Feb 2024] Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket put a satellite in the wrong orbit in December. Now we know why.
(Image credit: Firefly Aerospace/Trevor Mahlmann) We now know why the fourth-ever launch of Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket didn’t go entirely to plan. That mission, called Fly the Lightning, lifted off on Dec. 22 of last year, carrying an electronically steerable
[17 Feb 2024} SpaceX wants to take over a Florida launch pad from rival ULA
SpaceX now plans at least four Starship launch pads, two in Texas and two in Florida. STEPHEN CLARK – 2/17/2024, 5:27 PM SpaceX’s fully-stacked Starship rocket and Super Heavy booster on a launch pad in South Texas. One of the
[17 Feb 2024] Intuitive Machines Transmits First IM-1 Mission Images In Space
Intuitive Machines successfully transmitted its first IM-1 mission images to Earth on February 16, 2024. The images were captured shortly after separation from SpaceX’s second stage on Intuitive Machines’ first journey to the Moon under NASA’s CLPS initiative.
[17 Feb 2024] IM-1 Mission Engine Commissioning Update
HOUSTON, TX – February 16, 2024 The IM-1 mission Nova-C class lunar lander continues to be in excellent health, in a stable orientation and remains on schedule for a lunar landing opportunity on the afternoon of February 22. The original
[17 Feb 2024] IM-1 Update: IM-1 Mission Vehicle Health Update
HOUSTON, TX – February 15, 2024 The IM-1 mission Nova-C class lunar lander continues to be in excellent health, and we are preparing for our engine commissioning maneuver. Following nominal launch vehicle separation, the spacecraft autonomously brought up all sensors
[17 Feb 2024] JAXA reaches orbit on the second launch of H3
H3 rollout ahead of the VEP 4 mission. Credit: MHI) Japan’s H3 rocket made a second attempt to reach orbit on Saturday, 11 months after it failed during its maiden flight. The rocket successfully sent a mass simulator and two
[17 Feb 2924] What is Intuitive Machines and how is it aiming for the moon?
Winning a NASA contract to send scientific experiments to the moon, Intuitive Machines represent an exciting new future for lunar exploration. Intuitive Machines of Houston has proposed to fly several payloads to the moon. (Image credit: Intuitive Machines) Intuitive Machines
[16 Feb 2024] SpaceX launches private ‘Odysseus’ lander on pioneering moon mission by Intuitive Machines
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus moon lander lifts off atop a Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 15, 2024.(Image credit: SpaceX) A smooth launch (and rocket landing) The Falcon 9 lifted off from KSC’s Pad 39A today at 1:05 a.m. EST (0605 GMT).