Intuitive Machines IM-1 mission, CLPS mission with NASA and commercial payloads Options

[Decepticon]

Does this lander contain the drill as originally proposed?

I do not see this instrument listed in recent posts.

[Phil Stooke]

The Trident drill is on IM-2 later in the year.

Phil

[Thorsten Denk]

Btw, the launch will be Wednesday Feb 14, at 05:57 UTC.
For the Americans, this is the night Tue to Wed, 12:57 AM EST.
In less than 1½ days!

Thorsten

[Phil Stooke]

Delayed now, to the 15th.

Phil

[Thorsten Denk]

Yes, and 8 minutes later.
Feb 15 at 06:05 UTC now.

Thorsten

[Phil Stooke]

Frustrating to me... Intuitive Machines has not released a definitive map of their landing site (welcome to the world of commercial lunar exploration... Astrobotic didn't either). This screenshot from Quickmap shows three locations defined by coordinates, from an LSSW presentation, a PSAC presentation and the LROC website, and also a box showing the location of an LRO image at:

https://www.lroc.asu.edu/posts/1321


Remember that the image background on Quickmap can contain registration errors. But that's not enough to account for all this variation. The LRO site is much smoother than the points further south.

Phil

[Hungry4info]

Launch has occurred and IM-1 is currently in a parking orbit before TLI burn.

Edit: Separation from Falcon 9. Gorgeous views.

Attached thumbnail(s)

 

[Thorsten Denk]

Is there any information if they have successfully established radio contact with the lander and that everything is nominal?

Thorsten

[Explorer1]

At the end of the NASA stream, yes there was a callout of data packets coming in. Some clapping too.

[Ron Hobbs]

"IM-1 mission Nova-C class lunar lander has launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and successfully commissioned in space by establishing a stable attitude, solar charging, and radio communications contact with the Company’s mission operations center in Houston."

Intiuitive Machines Update

[cIclops]

data link screenshot: https://twitter.com/amsatdl/status/1758175702724030899

live stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pPBCIpVGsM

[Thorsten Denk]

Is the landing time already publicly known?
The date is in one week, Feb22.
But what hour?

Thorsten

[kenny]

I have also been wondering that... I want to put an alert in my diary.
As has already been noted, this private mission is less forthcoming than NASA or some other governmental missions.

[kenny]

SpaceflightNow is stating the landing will be late on Feb. 22.... hardly very precise, but at least provides some definition around the landing time....

" The mission, dubbed IM-1, lifted off at 1:05 a.m. EST (0605 UTC) at Launch Complex 39A. It kicks off a roughly eight-day journey to the Moon, culminating in a landing late in the day on Feb. 22."


IM-1 mission outline

The critical first engine firing (commissioning burn) is coming up in an hour so at about midnight Feb. 15 UTC. (19:00 ET).

"Once the lander completes the engine commissioning, there are up to three trajectory correction maneuvers that are short firings of just a second or two. That’s followed by the lunar orbit insertion (LOI) burn, which lasts about seven minutes.

The lander will then fly in a circular, low lunar orbit (LLO) of 100 kilometers above the Moon’s surface for about 24 hours, which is followed by the descent orbit insertion (DOI), which comes about 75 minutes ahead of landing. "

[kymani76]

The LROC DTM and rectified orthophotos of the Malapert A landing site are available from LROC website.