Watch Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lift off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Intuitive Machines and SpaceX are targeting 1:05 a.m. EST (0605 UTC) Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, for launch. The NASA payloads aboard the lander aim to help us learn more about terrain and communications near the lunar South Pole.
For more information about our Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, visit: https://go.nasa.gov/3RFR0A5
For more information about our Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, visit: https://go.nasa.gov/3RFR0A5
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LearningTranscript
00:00:00 With access to the moon, we will be able to make novel measurements and develop technologies
00:00:05 that scientists have long wanted to do on the lunar surface.
00:00:10 And as this new industry matures, this commercial delivery service for NASA and other customers
00:00:16 could expand beyond the moon to other destinations in our solar system.
00:00:20 And we can learn to live on another world.
00:00:24 Because we are explorers.
00:00:25 [MUSIC]
00:00:25 In 2019, NASA awarded Intuitive Machines its first of three mission task orders to
00:00:36 deliver NASA science and technology to the moon.
00:00:39 So over the following four years, Intuitive Machines has built an entire space program
00:00:44 to support these CLPS missions.
00:00:46 The company completed its lunar lander in a new facility at the Houston Spaceport, just
00:00:51 down the street from NASA's Johnson Space Center.
00:00:54 Joining me on set now is Steve Altanis.
00:00:56 He is the CEO of Intuitive Machines and former deputy director of Johnson Space Center.
00:01:01 Good morning to you.
00:01:02 Good morning, Megan.
00:01:03 Let's take a look at this clock.
00:01:04 You've been looking at it for quite a while now.
00:01:06 So we are 28 minutes from launch.
00:01:07 How are you feeling?
00:01:08 I'm ecstatic to be here.
00:01:11 Such a historic moment as we get ready to fire the Falcon 9 up and light the engines.
00:01:16 All systems are go.
00:01:17 The tanks on the lander are loaded.
00:01:20 And we're just waiting for this last 28 minutes to light the candle.
00:01:25 So why did you start a company to commercially build and fly lunar landers?
00:01:30 Well we started a company just because, you know, at the time NASA was thinking about
00:01:34 a capabilities driven framework and no real destination.
00:01:38 And so I decided to retire early and think about a business where I could apply human
00:01:42 spaceflight expertise in engineering and methodologies to solving intractable problems around the
00:01:49 world in oil and gas and energy, medicine and aerospace.
00:01:52 Well in 2018 when the National Security Council came up with strategic directive one, which
00:01:59 was to say that the moon is now of strategic interest, we turned our whole company towards
00:02:05 attempting to land on the moon to return the United States to the moon for the first time
00:02:09 in 52 years.
00:02:11 So we've been talking about your lander, obviously Nova C, and your fellow co-founder, Dr. Tim
00:02:15 Crane, mentioned that your core group had worked on Project Morpheus.
00:02:19 And we have some video to show folks right now.
00:02:21 You know I remember that experimental prototype and the propulsion tests were completed right
00:02:25 here at KSC.
00:02:26 So how did Morpheus inform what you ended up doing with IM-1?
00:02:30 Well Morpheus was a terrestrial testbed that was a liquid oxygen, liquid methane lander
00:02:36 that actually we flew 37 times.
00:02:39 And we learned about how to ignite and to fly a liquid oxygen, liquid methane engine.
00:02:47 That core technology is the core technology of our Nova C lander.
00:02:50 In addition, the autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology onboard Morpheus, while
00:02:55 it was older technology, those algorithms are the same kinds of algorithms we use for
00:03:00 our hazard detection and avoidance, which is what we do on the moon to land on a place
00:03:06 as rocky and craggy as the South Pole.
00:03:09 And so we use that technology also, which is a derivative of what NASA produced, but
00:03:15 we had in our know-how as we started the company.
00:03:17 And so you're talking about landing.
00:03:18 You know there have been a number of attempts to land on the moon recently, you know by
00:03:22 companies and other countries.
00:03:25 Roughly half has succeeded, half have failed.
00:03:27 So what has your company done to increase the chances of landing on the moon?
00:03:31 Well I think first and foremost what you have to do is you have to be humble about it and
00:03:35 you have to learn from and stand on the shoulders of all those who have gone before.
00:03:40 So we looked really hard at every mission that has gone to the moon and we looked for
00:03:46 what mistakes or things in their design that caused their errors and did those mistakes
00:03:55 or did those design deficiencies, are they in our lander?
00:04:00 And so we learned from others and so we appreciate everyone who's tried to go before.
00:04:05 But in addition we bring things together quickly.
00:04:08 We bring hardware and software together in the early stages of development testing and
00:04:12 test often.
00:04:13 And we put them on multiple test beds and test, test, test like we fly.
00:04:17 And that's the key to success and that's what I think we did.
00:04:20 We learned from human spaceflight engineering to take the best of what we had and what we
00:04:24 were doing and then streamline it to be agile and efficient.
00:04:29 And we're working on a fixed price budget so it was essential that we innovated.
00:04:32 And I think over constrained budget, over constrained schedule and an incredibly challenging
00:04:39 thing like landing on the moon forced us to innovate.
00:04:43 And that's the key.
00:04:44 Thank you so much.
00:04:45 I appreciate it and good luck tonight.
00:04:46 All right.
00:04:47 Thank you.
00:04:48 All right.
00:04:49 So once the NovaSea lander gets to the moon there are six instruments on board that will
00:04:51 play a key role in navigating and studying the lunar surface.
00:04:55 And the first one is this.
00:04:57 It's a lightweight laser retroreflector array or LRA.
00:05:01 This passive optical instrument is a collection of eight as you can see here about half inch
00:05:06 reflectors or mirrors used for measuring distance.
00:05:10 So the plan is after NovaSea lands on the moon future landers or spacecraft flying near
00:05:15 NovaSea's lunar location can cast a laser towards the surface and these retroreflectors
00:05:22 will bounce the light back to the approaching craft.
00:05:25 That reflected laser light will help determine how close the spacecraft are to the lunar
00:05:29 surface ensuring a smoother landing.
00:05:32 So really it's similar to when you're reversing your car and watching a camera to let you
00:05:36 know just how close you are to an object.
00:05:42 All right.
00:05:43 So for more than.
00:05:49 So let's go back now to Houston where Josh Marshall is standing by live at Intuitive
00:05:53 Machines with an update.
00:05:54 And Josh what is the latest.
00:06:01 Thanks Megan.
00:06:02 And if you're just joining us at home welcome to Nova Control in Houston Texas.
00:06:06 Right now flight controllers are monitoring launch pad activity and staying in communication
00:06:10 with SpaceX's launch control in Florida where we have another team working side by side
00:06:15 with SpaceX to monitor NovaSea's fueling and launch readiness.
00:06:19 After launch flight controllers working each of Nova Control's 12 positions will prepare
00:06:24 for first contact with our NovaSea class lunar lander.
00:06:27 That process won't start until a spring force gently pushes the lander away from the launch
00:06:32 vehicle second stage which is scheduled for about 48 minutes after liftoff.
00:06:37 After separation our lander's orbit is called trans lunar orbit.
00:06:41 This enables NovaSea to reach lunar orbit in about a week but requires a lunar lander
00:06:46 with a very capable engine.
00:06:49 NovaSea was tailor made for NASA's CLPS initiative and supporting commercial lunar exploration.
00:06:54 It's a pillar of Intuitive Machines' lunar access services and we took a deep dive into
00:06:59 what makes NovaSea qualified for this historic undertaking.
00:07:08 NovaSea was our version of a liquid oxygen liquid methane lander and we went about imagining
00:07:13 that into existence.
00:07:15 Intuitive Machines' NovaSea class 3D printed engine took its first breath of liquid methane
00:07:21 and liquid oxygen in 2018 on an airstrip at Ellington Airport in Houston, Texas.
00:07:27 We didn't have enough money for a facility with blast walls and water suppression or
00:07:33 water deluge so we had to test outside in the environment of Houston where the temperature
00:07:39 is about 100 degrees and the humidity is like the same and we have an 18 hour day rolling
00:07:45 out to the runway.
00:07:47 It was brutal but we did it to get the critical test engine data we needed to build our own
00:07:53 engine.
00:07:54 Designed, manufactured and controlled in space by Intuitive Machines, NovaSea's structure
00:07:59 is primarily carbon composite.
00:08:01 We needed to build the lightest weight structure we could.
00:08:05 That meant honeycomb aluminum core with composite face sheets, composite struts and most importantly
00:08:12 linerless composite propellant tank.
00:08:14 Man what a challenge that was.
00:08:16 Between the engine, carbon composites, software and electronics required to build a NovaSea
00:08:22 lunar lander, it took an incredible amount of touch labor to get to the launch pad.
00:08:26 We worked very closely with San Jacinto Community College to create a certification course for
00:08:33 technicians where they would take these certifications.
00:08:36 We then at Intuitive Machines would give them an internship and test them out in the workplace
00:08:41 and anyone that showed the aptitude to be a really good technician we hired on the spot.
00:08:46 Nearly all of the lunar lander's payloads are mounted to its exterior including six
00:08:51 NASA provided payloads that will help lay the foundation for Artebus missions.
00:08:56 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's EagleCam, designed to deploy off NovaSea right before
00:09:01 landing to take third person perspective images.
00:09:04 The International Lunar Observatory Association's camera system mounted at exact angles that
00:09:09 could capture images of the Milky Way from the lunar surface.
00:09:13 A data center technology demonstration by Lone Star Data Holdings and Omni Heat Infinity,
00:09:19 Columbia Sportswear's thermal reflective insulation used in many of their outdoor products will
00:09:24 help protect NovaSea from extreme temperatures in space.
00:09:27 We've got brilliant ideas and if we can help facilitate those startups to help build this
00:09:34 economy I think that raises all boats and it's as serving as the transportation leg
00:09:40 to the moon we're happy to accommodate those kinds of companies.
00:09:47 The IM-1 landing site is called Malapert A. It's named after 17th century Belgian astronomer
00:09:53 Charles Malapert and is expectedly made of lunar highland material, similar to the material
00:09:58 studied during Apollo 16, which was also launched from Launch Complex 39A where we have more
00:10:04 from Megan.
00:10:05 Megan.
00:10:06 All right, thanks Josh.
00:10:07 And actually not far from the Malapert A landing site is the Malapert Massif region and that
00:10:11 is one of the 13 candidate regions being considered for the Artemis 3 landing.
00:10:16 Okay, so a second NASA instrument on board the NovaSea lander is NASA's Radio Frequency
00:10:22 Mass Gauge or RFMG.
00:10:24 The instrument is essentially a fuel gauge to estimate the amount of propellant in spacecraft
00:10:29 tanks in specifically a low gravity space environment.
00:10:33 So during this mission RFMG will estimate the amount of propellants in NovaSea's tanks.
00:10:39 Once proven RFMG technology would demonstrate significantly more accurate measurements of
00:10:45 a fuel tank's fill level without requiring a thrust to provide a force upon the fuel
00:10:51 in order to measure it, as current technology does.
00:10:55 For the first time in more than 50 years, astronauts including the first woman and person
00:10:59 of color will travel to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program.
00:11:03 To get there, SpaceX and NASA teamed up to develop the human landing system.
00:11:08 Here's a closer look at your Artemis Moon Minute.
00:11:16 With Artemis 3 planning to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972, NASA
00:11:21 and its commercial partners continue to develop the systems needed to land crews safely on
00:11:26 the lunar surface.
00:11:28 SpaceX will provide and operate a moon lander for NASA's Artemis 3 mission called Starship
00:11:33 Human Landing System or HLS.
00:11:36 During Artemis 3, NASA's Space Launch System rocket will launch four astronauts aboard
00:11:41 the Orion spacecraft for their multi-day journey to lunar orbit.
00:11:44 The Starship HLS, powered by two variants of SpaceX's Raptor engines, will launch uncrewed
00:11:50 on a super-heavy booster to lunar orbit to pick up the crew.
00:11:54 Once on board the HLS, two crew members will head to the surface of the moon where they
00:11:58 will live and work for about a week collecting samples and performing science experiments.
00:12:04 Once they're done, they'll get back into Starship to the orbiting Orion and return
00:12:08 to Earth.
00:12:09 That's your Artemis Moon Minute.
00:12:11 For more on SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System, let's go back to Jessie Anderson live
00:12:20 at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
00:12:24 Jessie.
00:12:25 Great.
00:12:26 Thank you, Megan.
00:12:28 Down at Starbase, Texas, we're continuing to build, test and fly Starship, the world's
00:12:33 most powerful launch vehicle ever developed.
00:12:36 A fully reusable Starship is capable of carrying up to 150 metric tons to orbit and up to 100
00:12:43 passengers.
00:12:44 We completed two test flights last year and 2024 is lining up to see even more Starships
00:12:50 take flight.
00:12:51 We're still in the testing phase, but major milestones like flying at a high cadence,
00:12:55 full system reuse and on-orbit refilling are key priorities.
00:13:00 Refilling on orbit will enable the transport of up to 100 tons all the way to Mars.
00:13:06 Down at Starbase, we're gearing up for flight three of Starship.
00:13:10 We have a fully stacked vehicle on the pad for the first time since flight two in November
00:13:15 of last year, ready to go through pre-launch testing to get ready to fly.
00:13:21 We're also building a second Starbase launch tower to further increase Starship's flight
00:13:26 opportunities.
00:13:27 Also in testing, our engineers are proving out all systems necessary to make a trip to
00:13:31 the moon possible, such as propulsion, life support and even the elevator that you see
00:13:36 here, which will take crew and cargo from the Starship hatch opening down to the lunar
00:13:40 surface.
00:13:42 In partnership with NASA, SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System, or HLS, will put the
00:13:47 first Artemis astronauts on the moon.
00:13:50 We are part of the global team, which includes intuitive machines that will further exploration
00:13:55 of the moon under the Artemis program.
00:13:58 SpaceX will perform one uncrewed demonstration flight before the Artemis 3 mission, which
00:14:04 will be the first human surface expedition since 1972.
00:14:09 To that end, SpaceX has been hard at work getting Starship ready for its moon missions
00:14:13 and ultimately Mars.
00:14:16 There's so much to look forward to and it's just incredible that humans are finally going
00:14:20 back to the moon and the efforts of SpaceX and intuitive machines get to play a vital
00:14:25 role in that.
00:14:26 For those of you who have just joined, we're just about 15 minutes from launch of the IM-1
00:14:31 mission.
00:14:32 Let's check back in with Josh at intuitive machines.
00:14:35 Josh.
00:14:36 Thanks, Jessie.
00:14:38 We're counting down the minutes to launch and looking forward to intuitive machines
00:14:44 firing its Nova C-class lunar landers engine about a day after liftoff.
00:14:49 Nova C uses an environmentally friendly mixture of liquid methane and liquid oxygen.
00:14:55 It's a propulsion system with deep roots to NASA's project Morpheus.
00:14:59 Morpheus was a prototype lander engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center used to integrate
00:15:03 technologies for future spacecraft that could land on a variety of destinations in our solar
00:15:08 system.
00:15:09 The project integrated NASA's autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology designed to
00:15:14 enable a spacecraft to identify, descend and find a safe landing site that is relatively
00:15:20 flat and free of large boulders, rocks and craters.
00:15:23 After the video on your screen, you can see that signature blue fire synonymous with liquid
00:15:28 methane and liquid oxygen engines.
00:15:31 That's the same fuel used on Nova C. From December 2013 to December 2014, Morpheus completed
00:15:38 13 free flight tests at the north end of Kennedy's shuttle and landing facility.
00:15:44 And joining me now is our co-founder and chief technology officer, Dr. Tim Crane.
00:15:49 Tim, before starting intuitive machines with your fellow co-founders, Steve Altemus and
00:15:53 Dr. Cam Gaffarian, you were working on other things at Johnson Space Center to include
00:15:58 Project Morpheus.
00:16:00 What can you tell me about Project Morpheus and how that founding of technology led to
00:16:05 us getting to launch pad today with your company?
00:16:07 Well, one thing I can tell you is I get chills watching that footage because it takes me
00:16:11 right back.
00:16:12 But this is a journey that clearly our prop technology was a big part of Morpheus we brought
00:16:17 forward.
00:16:18 Also, the all-hat, the autonomous landing, hazard avoidance task, a lot of our navigation,
00:16:23 the way we do software, the way we test our systems, and even the discipline about knowing
00:16:28 when some technology needs to wait for a future date so we can get to flight.
00:16:33 All of that came from the Morpheus experience.
00:16:35 And just about a year ago, you got to see those Project Morpheus tanks again, but this
00:16:40 time they were in your facility and you were testing them with your company.
00:16:44 What can you tell me about speeding up innovation through NASA's Reimbursable Space Act agreement?
00:16:49 Well, NASA really is a national treasure in terms of knowledge and capability and in some
00:16:53 places equipment.
00:16:55 And we had a supply chain issue with some of our tanks and we needed to get our test
00:16:58 rig up and running.
00:17:00 And we knew the Morpheus tanks were in surplus and reached out to NASA and they facilitated
00:17:06 getting those tanks to us so that we could proceed with testing while our flight tanks
00:17:09 were coming in.
00:17:10 And real quick, while you have you, why liquid methane?
00:17:13 Why liquid oxygen?
00:17:14 Well, in the near term, it's very easy to work with.
00:17:17 It's environmentally friendly.
00:17:18 It's non-toxic.
00:17:20 It's very robust to changing conditions.
00:17:23 Down the road, it's the exploration fuel of the solar system.
00:17:27 And we can make it on Mars for bringing spacecraft back from there.
00:17:30 So we don't have to take all the fuel with us.
00:17:32 Well, Tim, I know you're burning back to get back into mission control, watching your team
00:17:37 that you fostered throughout all these years and listening to that IM-1 mission loop.
00:17:41 We do appreciate your time today and thanks for stopping in.
00:17:44 Thanks, Josh.
00:17:45 The NASA instrument on the NovaSea lander for this IM-1 mission is the Lunar Node-1
00:17:52 Navigation Demonstrator, also called LN-1.
00:17:55 That's much simpler.
00:17:57 It's similar to when you use GPS to get to a destination.
00:18:01 Let's take a look at how it works and what it will do to help support future surface
00:18:06 and orbital operations.
00:18:09 Lunar Node-1 is meant to be a demonstration of how we can use various navigation technologies
00:18:14 to figure out where you are in and around the moon.
00:18:18 I'm holding in my hands the Lunar Node-1 Mass Simulator.
00:18:21 We use this build to test out our vibrational modes, put on a shake table, and also do fit
00:18:26 checks with the lander itself.
00:18:29 Inside of our payload, we have multiple electronics boards that fit within this chassis that is
00:18:32 a little bit about a half of you in size.
00:18:34 You can see our external connectors here where we have our data and power from the lander
00:18:38 itself.
00:18:39 And within here, we have multiple boards that do the power regulation, our data control,
00:18:42 our FPGAs, all those kind of electronics pieces are in here, as well as a small S-band radio
00:18:47 that attaches up underneath this top radiator in order to distribute this heat, and then
00:18:51 the top to the antenna, which mounts here.
00:18:53 This is the same size and build as the flight payload.
00:18:56 It's just not covered in MLI or some of the other materials that you'll see on the flight
00:19:00 build itself.
00:19:04 Now IM-1 is the second launch of a lunar lander under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services
00:19:09 Initiative.
00:19:10 The first CLPS launch was with Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic.
00:19:13 The mission was called Peregrine Mission 1.
00:19:16 It successfully launched last month on a ULA rocket, but afterwards, Astrobotic reported
00:19:21 a failure in its propulsion system, which prevented the spacecraft from landing on the
00:19:26 moon.
00:19:27 Ten days later, Peregrine burned up after reentering Earth's atmosphere.
00:19:31 An anomaly review board will release its findings to what happened once complete.
00:19:38 Joining me now to talk about NASA's CLPS Initiative and its benefits and risks is Sandra Connolly.
00:19:42 She's a Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA Science.
00:19:45 Good morning to you.
00:19:46 Good morning, Megan.
00:19:47 So talk to me about some of the key takeaways as NASA moves forward with commercial lunar
00:19:52 vendors.
00:19:53 Yeah, so the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Program is super important to NASA.
00:19:58 It really is transforming our method of doing business.
00:20:01 It's leveraging industry's emerging capabilities of actually providing end-to-end service for
00:20:06 us.
00:20:07 So rather than us having to build our own, we can now procure it.
00:20:10 And it's not only -- we're not the only customer.
00:20:13 Other government organizations, industry, academia from around the world are all going
00:20:17 to procure these services.
00:20:19 And there is risk associated with it, though.
00:20:21 So we recognize that as we're evolving this capability.
00:20:24 Yeah, so I was just going to ask you that.
00:20:25 I mean, because we know that there are risks --
00:20:27 Spacecrafts go for launch.
00:20:28 Spacecrafts go for launch.
00:20:29 We just heard a call for that.
00:20:32 What involvement does NASA have when our commercial providers are assessing the risks?
00:20:37 So what's really important about this, too, is recognizing that industry is in the lead
00:20:41 in providing these services.
00:20:43 So they're the decision-makers.
00:20:44 So ultimately, what will happen is, you know, as they're making their decisions, we obviously
00:20:50 bring great experience along with us.
00:20:52 And we will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them and support them through the legal process,
00:20:57 through contracts and all.
00:20:58 But we will bring to bear what we need to to support them to make sure that this is
00:21:02 successful.
00:21:03 Sure.
00:21:04 And it seems like, again, yes, we're fully committed to the Eclipse initiative.
00:21:07 So what is NASA sending to the Moon on future Eclipse flights?
00:21:11 So again, super exciting time for NASA.
00:21:14 You may or may not realize we have 40 manifested payloads on the Eclipse mission.
00:21:19 So over the next few years -- and that's just for the NASA payloads, right?
00:21:22 Right.
00:21:23 So you've got industry and academia as well.
00:21:25 But focusing on Intuitive Machines, which is our purpose for being here tonight, we're
00:21:30 super excited about their efforts here.
00:21:33 So they actually have another payload that's going to be launching later this year.
00:21:37 They're going to be delivering the Prime 1 drill and spectrometer, which is actually
00:21:43 going to support our in-situ resource utilization and support a future human presence on the
00:21:52 Moon.
00:21:53 Sandra, thank you so much.
00:21:54 We're excited to see what Eclipse can do for NASA and for humanity, really, with what we
00:21:58 plan to do with the Artemis program.
00:22:00 Thank you.
00:22:01 Thank you so much.
00:22:02 And go Falcon 9.
00:22:03 Go Prime 1.
00:22:04 Perfect.
00:22:05 All right.
00:22:06 So let's send it back to our friends at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California, as they walk us
00:22:09 through the final moments of the countdown.
00:22:11 And then I will see you guys after launch.
00:22:14 Awesome.
00:22:17 Thank you so much, Megan.
00:22:18 At T-minus, just under 7.5 minutes, all systems are currently a go for an on-time liftoff.
00:22:25 Next up, in just about a couple minutes, the structure next to the vehicle known as the
00:22:30 strong back will begin to retract away from the vehicle.
00:22:34 But while we wait for that, let's talk about what it takes to actually get to orbit.
00:22:38 In order to get the rocket and payload into any orbit, the rocket not only has to go up
00:22:43 really fast, but it also has to go sideways.
00:22:48 As we ascend, we tilt the engines, and that turns the rocket horizontally.
00:22:52 To help demonstrate this concept, an image of a firing cannon from a really high mountain
00:22:59 is what you can see there on your screen.
00:23:01 The cannonball will arc, and then good old gravity will pull it back down to Earth.
00:23:07 As you increase the power, the cannonball will arc and land farther and farther away.
00:23:10 Eventually, if you could continue to increase the power, the cannonball will end up in free
00:23:14 fall around the Earth.
00:23:16 Basically, gravity is pulling down on the cannonball, but it's going so fast that it
00:23:20 never hits the ground.
00:23:21 [INAUDIBLE]
00:23:22 This arc that constantly misses the Earth is called in orbit.
00:23:29 Falcon 9 effectively does the same thing as the cannon in this example, and it provides
00:23:34 enough power and horizontal velocity to the second stage carrying the spacecraft, enabling
00:23:39 the spacecraft to be placed into orbit around the Earth.
00:23:43 Now you'll be able to see this today by watching the orientation of Falcon 9 after liftoff.
00:23:48 The rocket will go straight up until about T plus 10 seconds, at which point we will
00:23:52 begin that shift in orientation, gimmeling the engines so that Falcon 9 can go horizontally
00:23:58 really fast.
00:23:59 So be sure to look out for that after liftoff.
00:24:03 Now again, at T minus 5 minutes and 38 seconds, all systems are currently go for liftoff.
00:24:11 The strong back is going to begin retracting away shortly in preparation for that retraction.
00:24:18 The clamp arms, which are located just around the second stage, just below the fairing,
00:24:23 will begin to open.
00:24:25 Once those are fully open, then the TE or the strong back can begin to recline away
00:24:30 from Falcon 9.
00:24:31 You can see that on your screen, those clamp arms just below the fairing there.
00:24:37 Now the vehicle is nearly fully loaded with propellants, and we did hear a call out that
00:24:41 stage one prop loading has concluded.
00:24:44 We are still loading rocks.
00:24:48 And there's that call out that we are beginning that process for that strong back retraction.
00:24:55 Prop loading is continuing on the vehicle and will complete at T minus 2 minutes.
00:24:59 The range is currently green and ready to support liftoff.
00:25:04 And if for some reason we do not launch today, we do have a backup opportunity on Friday,
00:25:09 February 16th at 1 12 a.m. Eastern Time.
00:25:14 Strong back retract in progress.
00:25:19 And good call outs there.
00:25:20 The strong back retraction is now in progress.
00:25:25 And it will be slow and slight, but we should see those clamp arms begin to open up there.
00:25:39 And there you can see it on your screen.
00:25:40 Those clamp arms are now opening up again.
00:25:43 Once they are fully open, that will allow the transport erector, that structure next
00:25:47 to the vehicle, to begin to retract away.
00:25:54 You should see that TE begin to move away very slow and slight.
00:26:07 But at this point in the countdown, both the first and second stages are nearly fully loaded
00:26:10 with 1 million pounds of kerosene fuel and liquid oxygen.
00:26:15 And there you can see on your screen that TE is now moving away from Falcon 9.
00:26:19 Falcon 9 uses two propellants, a refined form of kerosene called RP-1 or rocket propellant
00:26:24 one as a fuel, and LOX or liquid oxygen as an oxidizer.
00:26:29 Now fire generally needs three elements to ignite.
00:26:32 That's heat, fuel, and an oxidizing agent, which is usually oxygen.
00:26:36 This is what's known as the fire triangle.
00:26:39 In our case, the liquid oxygen is chilled below its boiling point so that it has a much
00:26:43 greater amount of mass per volume, allowing us to load more of it into the vehicle.
00:26:52 And in addition to these two propellants, we also use the chemical TTAB or triethylaluminum
00:26:56 and triethylborane as an ignition source.
00:26:59 The combustion of RP-1 and liquid oxygen is what makes the rocket go, but it's the TTAB
00:27:03 that sets the match to the propellant mix.
00:27:06 And we did hear a call out that stage one liquid oxygen loading is complete.
00:27:10 Coming up next, in the next couple of minutes at T-60 seconds, Falcon 9 will go into startup.
00:27:16 That means that the rocket's autonomous flight computers will have taken over the launch
00:27:20 countdown.
00:27:21 And at just inside T-2 seconds, we will light those Merlin 1D engines for liftoff.
00:27:28 The Intuitive Machines payload continues to be healthy and the Falcon 9 team is tracking
00:27:32 no issues on the vehicle.
00:27:34 We are currently green for weather and the range is ready to support.
00:27:39 A T-0 of 105 AM Eastern Time.
00:27:49 And just waiting for the call out for liquid oxygen.
00:27:54 Right on time, stage two liquid oxygen loading is now complete.
00:27:58 That concludes propellant loading on the vehicle.
00:28:02 That means that Falcon 9 is fully loaded with one million pounds of kerosene fuel and liquid
00:28:08 oxygen.
00:28:10 Weather is 90% chance of good weather.
00:28:16 Good weather for T-0.
00:28:19 And we are just about 30 seconds away from Falcon 9 going into startup.
00:28:25 Now that propellant loading is complete, we are beginning to vent out the lines, the propellant
00:28:31 lines on that transport erector there.
00:28:32 So you can see more of those white clouds around the vehicle.
00:28:41 Startup is coming up here in a couple seconds.
00:28:45 Falcon 9 is in startup.
00:28:48 Great call out.
00:28:49 That means that the internal flight computers have now taken over the launch countdown.
00:28:53 We are now just waiting the final go from the launch director.
00:28:57 LD, go for launch.
00:29:02 And excellent call.
00:29:03 All systems are go for launch of Falcon 9 with the intuitive machines lunar payload.
00:29:10 30 seconds.
00:29:18 15 seconds.
00:29:28 T-10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ignition and liftoff.
00:29:45 Go SpaceX.
00:29:46 Go IM-1 and the Odysseus lunar lander.
00:29:47 Stage 1 propulsion is nominal.
00:30:07 Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, carrying
00:30:22 the IM-1 payload.
00:30:25 During ascent, we tilt the engines, the technical term being gimbling, and that turns the rocket
00:30:32 horizontally and --
00:30:41 Mach 1.
00:30:54 We have a few events coming up in quick succession here.
00:31:13 That will be MECO, stage separation, SES 1 and then the boost back burn startup on
00:31:19 the first stage vehicle.
00:31:21 MECO or main engine cutoff is where we shut down all nine of those engines on the first
00:31:26 stage vehicle.
00:31:27 That helps slow the vehicle down in preparation for stage separation, which is where the first
00:31:32 and second stage will separate.
00:31:34 And the first stage booster will begin its trip back to earth.
00:31:38 And the second stage vehicle will ignite that engine with SES 1 or second stage engine startup
00:31:46 1.
00:31:48 And then the boost back burn will begin on the first stage vehicle, which is one of three
00:31:54 burns that's required for the vehicle to make its way back to today's landing zone.
00:31:58 And this burn assists with the vehicle to reorient itself back towards land.
00:32:04 Stage separation confirmed.
00:32:07 And there we saw and heard those callouts for MECO, stage separation, SES 1 and the
00:32:27 boost back burn startup on the first stage.
00:32:33 Some great views there.
00:32:35 The first stage is currently performing its boost back burn.
00:32:39 This is where we ignite a few of the engines to bring the trajectory towards the landing
00:32:44 site.
00:32:46 And coming up here shortly will be fairing separation.
00:32:57 Fairing separation confirmed.
00:33:03 And an excellent view of fairing separation and an amazing view of the IM-1 payload attached
00:33:11 to Falcon 9 second stage.
00:33:14 Fairing deployment has been confirmed.
00:33:17 And we will be attempting to retrieve these fairing halves once they fall back to earth
00:33:21 with our recovery vessel, Bob.
00:33:24 Both vehicles are on nominal trajectories.
00:33:30 And some good callouts there.
00:33:35 And in about three minutes, there will be a couple more burns on our first stage to
00:33:40 prepare for landing at landing zone 1 at Cape Canaveral.
00:33:45 Again, we've completed the boost back burn on the first stage.
00:33:48 That's the first burn of three.
00:33:52 The next burns coming up will be the entry burn and then the landing burn for the first
00:33:56 stage vehicle.
00:33:59 We are at T plus 4 minutes and 17 seconds into today's mission.
00:34:04 IM-1 is SpaceX's 14th launch this year.
00:34:08 And the lunar lander on board could be the first U.S. moon landing since the Apollo program
00:34:14 ended more than 50 years ago.
00:34:20 You can see on your screen that the EMBEC engine on the second stage is ignited.
00:34:24 And we are currently in the first of two planned EMBEC burns.
00:34:27 17 plus 6 minutes.
00:34:29 You should see on your screen the first stage's entry burn coming up on that first stage vehicle.
00:34:37 Again, that is the second of three burns.
00:34:40 For the entry burn, we will relight three of those M1D engines, starting with the center
00:34:45 E9 engine, followed shortly afterwards with the E1 and E5 engines.
00:34:50 This helps slow the vehicle down as it enters back into the Earth's atmosphere.
00:34:54 And we need to slow down the vehicle to reduce reentry forces.
00:34:59 And that helps us to recover and reuse the first stage.
00:35:04 And again, what you're seeing on your screen is a view of the EMBEC engine on the second
00:35:11 stage.
00:35:13 And you can follow the speed and altitude of both vehicles on the bottom left-hand of
00:35:20 your screen that is showing the stage 1 telemetry and stage 2 telemetry on your right-hand screen.
00:35:30 And we are coming up on the entry burn for the first stage vehicle in just about 20 seconds
00:35:35 or so.
00:35:36 And what you're seeing on your screen on the left-hand side, it's a little dark there,
00:35:41 but that is a view from the first stage.
00:35:44 And with the entry burn, we should see that screen light up with the engines reignited.
00:36:03 And there you can see that the entry burn has begun with those engines relit.
00:36:08 And a very, very quick entry burn there.
00:36:21 Great call-outs, both vehicles on nominal trajectories.
00:36:24 And as I mentioned, that was the second of three burns required for this booster to return
00:36:30 back down to land.
00:36:32 The next and final burn will be the landing burn.
00:36:35 That's just a center E9 engine burn.
00:36:38 And that helps slow the vehicle down just in time for landing.
00:36:42 That's coming up in just about 15 seconds or so.
00:36:46 >> Stage 1 transonic.
00:36:50 >> Stage 1 left burn.
00:36:55 >> Stage 1 left burn.
00:36:59 >> And there you can see on your left-hand screen, the landing burn has begun.
00:37:14 Let's watch as Falcon 9 touches down for landing.
00:37:28 And a great view there.
00:37:35 That is -- we just had confirmation -- and just heard Seiko 1 as well as a confirmation
00:37:52 of good orbit for our Falcon 9 second stage carrying our IM1 payload.
00:37:58 Now with that landing, that marks SpaceX's 273rd recovery of an orbital class rocket,
00:38:05 including first stage landings for Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.
00:38:12 And with confirmation of good orbit, the mission isn't over yet.
00:38:16 Coming up, we do have the second burn of our MVAC engine or SES-2 on board the second stage
00:38:21 around the T plus 41-minute mark, followed by spacecraft separation.
00:38:26 So until then, we're going to send it over to Megan at KSC.
00:38:29 Megan?
00:38:30 >> Thank you, Jessie.
00:38:31 And if you're just joining us, welcome to the space coast of Florida, where we just
00:38:35 witnessed live the liftoff of the moon-bound spacecraft and Nova Sealander called Odysseus.
00:38:41 And, you know, we see a lot of launches here from Kennedy Space Center, but it really,
00:38:46 truly never gets old.
00:38:48 So Odysseus launched on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Pad 39A here at Kennedy
00:38:52 Space Center.
00:38:53 Intuitive Machines, an American company based in Houston, Texas, developed and built the
00:38:59 lunar lander that is carrying, among other things, six NASA payloads.
00:39:04 And if everything goes as planned, in eight days that Nova Sealander is expected to land
00:39:08 on the shadowy south side of the moon.
00:39:12 Make sure you stay with us.
00:39:13 Our broadcast here on NASA TV will continue through Odysseus' acquisition of signal, which
00:39:18 is expected to happen around 155 a.m. Eastern time.
00:39:23 Now, before launch, we highlighted three of six NASA payloads on board the Nova Sealander.
00:39:29 The fourth is the SCOUTS payload, which stands for Stereo Cameras for Lunar Plume Surface
00:39:35 Studies.
00:39:36 It includes four cameras at the base of the lunar lander.
00:39:39 The images it captures will help scientists understand how landings impact the lunar surface
00:39:45 for this mission and future ones.
00:39:49 SCOUTS is an array of small cameras that will be placed around the base of a lunar lander
00:39:53 and collect imagery during the descent and landing of the vehicle.
00:39:57 Using a technique called stereophotogrammetry, we can use those images to reconstruct a 3D
00:40:01 shape of the ground.
00:40:03 As the lander comes down, its hot engine plumes will interact with the surface.
00:40:06 Our cameras will begin acquiring images from before this interaction begins until after
00:40:11 the vehicle has landed on the surface.
00:40:13 The SCOUTS cameras will specifically be looking at the overall crater formation and erosion
00:40:18 of the ground due to the rocket plumes.
00:40:20 The final stereo images, which will be stored on a small onboard data storage unit, will
00:40:25 be transferred to the lander and then downlinked to Earth, where we can use them to reconstruct
00:40:29 the overall erosion volume and shape of the ground.
00:40:33 With the Artemis program, we plan to establish a sustained lunar exploration and try to land
00:40:38 multiple payloads in close proximity to one another.
00:40:41 SCOUTS data will be a critical part of understanding these phenomena and improving our computational
00:40:45 models to inform these future landings.
00:40:52 Let's head back now to Houston, where Josh Marshall is standing by live at Intuitive
00:40:56 Machines headquarters with an update and I'm sure very excited as well, Josh.
00:41:04 Thanks Megan.
00:41:05 With each passing minute, we are closer to receiving the lander's data in Nova Control.
00:41:10 Right now, flight controllers are standing by for launch vehicle separation, followed
00:41:14 by acquisition of signal.
00:41:16 That's when the lander makes first communications contact, sending critical health and flight
00:41:20 data into Nova Control.
00:41:22 We want to bring you closer to our mission operations center to experience a few types
00:41:26 of information that flight controllers are looking at during the mission.
00:41:31 This particular screen is called the Deorbit, Descent and Landing, or DDL screen.
00:41:36 This screen is primarily used by the mission director and landing system experts.
00:41:41 It's used primarily while Nova C orbits the moon and through landing.
00:41:45 The top right images of the moon are called the lunar tactical view.
00:41:48 When the dots turn red, the lander is on the far side of the moon and green is on the near
00:41:53 side.
00:41:54 The line is the tail where Nova C is, with each dot representing 10 minutes of elapsed
00:41:58 time.
00:41:59 The acceleration sensed portion of the screen shows raw acceleration values from Nova C's
00:42:04 inertial measurement unit.
00:42:06 This is used a lot during burn maneuvers and is a more robust way of measuring acceleration
00:42:11 over time with the ability to look back at what has happened.
00:42:14 For some reason, flight controllers have lost data.
00:42:17 Finally, the column on the right is a Received, Accepted, Edited and Failed Pre-checked, or
00:42:23 RAFE chart for short.
00:42:24 When each of these lines are on top of each other, that's a good indication that Nova
00:42:28 C's navigation system is in good health.
00:42:31 That's because every measurement Nova C makes must be received, accepted, edited or failed
00:42:36 pre-checked.
00:42:37 The failure is a possible outlier of data that the lander's computer automatically knows
00:42:42 is bad information.
00:42:44 Collectively, the DDL screen is one of many data displays that flight controllers are
00:42:49 monitoring to successfully navigate Nova C to the lunar surface.
00:42:53 It's no small feat, and the tireless effort of our entire Intuitive Machines team has
00:42:58 brought us to this moment, standing by for launch vehicle separation and acquisition
00:43:02 of signal in approximately 40 minutes.
00:43:05 Until then, we'll toss back to Megan with more on the challenges that lie ahead of the
00:43:09 IM-1 mission.
00:43:10 Yeah, we've been honest about it.
00:43:12 You know how difficult it is to get to the moon.
00:43:14 We haven't done it in more than 50 years, but the CLPS initiative is going to change
00:43:19 that.
00:43:20 NASA and American companies who have teamed up to explore the moon know a lot of research
00:43:23 needs to happen before astronauts head back to the lunar surface.
00:43:27 In the end, the rewards outweigh the risks.
00:43:33 Landing on the moon is hard.
00:43:34 We're going back.
00:43:35 Under this Artemis program, we're going to be sending humans to the moon for the first
00:43:40 time since Apollo.
00:43:41 So ahead of humans, we want to get up as much science exploration and technology experiments
00:43:48 as possible.
00:43:49 So CLPS starts facilitating a lot of the early science, the things we want to learn before
00:43:53 we even send humans.
00:43:54 CLPS stands for Commercial Lunar Payload Services, CLPS.
00:43:59 The services part is the key element.
00:44:01 Ordinarily, when NASA delivers a payload to the surface of the moon, they do it with a
00:44:05 commercial partner, but NASA controls the building of the vehicle.
00:44:08 Now we're buying the service of delivery of our lunar payloads to the surface of the moon.
00:44:12 It is a delivery service, akin to a delivery service that you'd have here on Earth.
00:44:18 NASA will provide payloads to a commercial company.
00:44:21 They decide how to get it to the moon.
00:44:22 They have to develop their own lender, but they also have to manage the entire end-to-end
00:44:26 mission.
00:44:27 It's meant to provide affordable, rapid, frequent access to lunar surface through American companies.
00:44:34 We're funding different companies.
00:44:36 We have commercial companies that are competing to win task orders to deliver our payloads
00:44:41 to the surface of the moon.
00:44:43 One of the goals when we started CLPS was to help establish a lunar economy.
00:44:46 Somebody has to do it first, and then it becomes commercially available.
00:44:50 Then they're able to crank them up.
00:44:51 Then they're able to make it more affordable.
00:44:53 And so the lunar surface is just the next frontier for a commercial environment.
00:44:57 But we had to acknowledge up front, all the way through the highest levels of the agency
00:45:00 leadership, that some of them will fail.
00:45:03 These missions may not be as successful as a traditional NASA mission.
00:45:06 We have accepted the risk that going through this innovative approach with these commercial
00:45:11 companies, that there could be some failures.
00:45:14 Some of them are new companies.
00:45:15 None of them have ever successfully landed on the surface of the moon.
00:45:19 So they're going to learn lessons.
00:45:20 We need to give our vendors the opportunity to learn.
00:45:23 And so that'll help ultimately buy down our risk as these companies learn, okay, what
00:45:28 does it take to actually build up the lunar lander, integrate payloads, get to the lunar
00:45:33 surface and land safely?
00:45:34 They've been able to demonstrate that they have very, very good technical depth and the
00:45:38 ability to design and execute missions.
00:45:40 We're willing to take more shots on goal.
00:45:42 We aren't risking human lives.
00:45:44 And in the big picture, if we're flying missions at one-tenth of the cost of a NASA mission,
00:45:48 and we fail two of them, we still get eight missions for that same price.
00:45:53 Even with one or two or three failures, this is still a very economical proposition.
00:45:58 It's a risk posture which is more risk tolerant than NASA is accustomed to.
00:46:03 There's not a single one of these companies that's willing to bet their mission on a coin
00:46:07 toss.
00:46:08 Every one of them is doing what they can in order to have the most successful mission
00:46:11 possible.
00:46:12 But the important thing to realize is that risk tolerant does not mean risky.
00:46:15 And the rewards are a long-term ability to get payloads to the moon inexpensively, frequently,
00:46:21 and rapidly.
00:46:22 We want science so we can then put more of our resources on even more science exploration
00:46:28 and technology payloads and get more of a turn on investment when we get to the moon.
00:46:33 Eclipse provides tremendous benefit across the scientific and economic communities.
00:46:36 So there's a lot we'd like to learn about the moon to help human habitation and prepare
00:46:40 us for missions to Mars and beyond.
00:46:42 So the moon is the first step.
00:46:46 Flying on commercial missions will mean cost savings for NASA.
00:46:50 To talk more about that, we have Joel Kearns here now.
00:46:52 He's the Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration in NASA's Science Mission Directorate.
00:46:57 It's a very good morning, Joel.
00:46:58 We just saw lunch.
00:46:59 Oh, beautiful lunch.
00:47:00 Fantastic.
00:47:01 It's great to be back here, Megan.
00:47:02 Yeah, perfect.
00:47:03 So, you know, how does NASA maintain oversight when it comes to this, the Eclipse vendors?
00:47:08 Obviously, this is a new initiative for us.
00:47:09 Well, remember, what we're doing here is NASA is not doing these missions.
00:47:13 We're actually buying passage on commercial companies' missions for our experiments and
00:47:17 our cargo.
00:47:18 So we have established this group of pre-certified 14 U.S. companies that we can go to and have
00:47:24 them bid to do a specific mission for us, to land at a certain place of the moon and
00:47:30 to bring our cargo or our experiments with it.
00:47:32 Once we actually select a company to do that, we assign them a NASA engineer who's their
00:47:36 liaison.
00:47:38 They represent all the NASA cargo and payloads to the company, and they represent the company
00:47:42 back to NASA.
00:47:43 As part of that, we get a lot of insight into how the company is actually going to do their
00:47:47 mission.
00:47:48 They really understand what they need to do to make our cargo successful, our data come
00:47:51 back from the moon.
00:47:53 And then we continuously learn from that, and we feed back and make sure that all 14
00:47:56 of those companies are certified to be able to do this work.
00:48:00 So a very collaborative effort.
00:48:01 And, you know, we're talking a lot about a commercial lunar economy.
00:48:05 That's kind of the end goal.
00:48:06 So how does that shape up with Eclipse?
00:48:08 How do we get there?
00:48:09 A couple of different aspects.
00:48:10 You know, when you hear us talk about wanting to form a lunar or cis-lunar economy, in the
00:48:16 short term, what that really means is encouraging the companies to get other non-NASA organizations
00:48:21 to pay them to bring their experiments or their cargo on the moon.
00:48:25 But it's actually a lot broader than that.
00:48:27 Just by offering these contracts to industry and having them build their own missions that
00:48:31 we can take a part of, the companies are developing their own, you would think of as a part, a
00:48:36 high-tech ecosphere on Earth that's part of the lunar economy.
00:48:41 Over the years, they've had to figure out ways to build these robotic landers.
00:48:44 In some cases, helping other companies do new advanced high-tech components like rocket
00:48:49 engines or fuel tanks or sensors, which didn't even exist five or six years ago.
00:48:53 Of course, we can say now we're talking about small payloads going to the moon from commercials
00:48:58 or having suppliers on Earth.
00:49:00 But what the goal is in the long term is for these Eclipse companies to be able to take
00:49:04 to the moon work or goods or services of other bigger companies that just want to do work
00:49:09 in space.
00:49:10 So what would you say is the agency's confidence in Eclipse?
00:49:13 You know, you laid out a very ambitious vision.
00:49:16 Yeah.
00:49:17 Well, we think that the benefits of having this be successful where we go out to companies
00:49:23 and, in effect, we pay for a service to get our things to the moon, it's just so positive
00:49:28 that we really are committed to exercising this model and seeing how American business
00:49:33 does.
00:49:34 Now, NASA is a learning organization, so every attempt that the companies make, we're always
00:49:38 looking at, we're trying to learn from that and figure out how we're going to adjust things
00:49:41 to go forward to do next.
00:49:43 But we're really committed to this public-private partnership and service model that we've embarked
00:49:47 on.
00:49:48 Joel, thank you so much.
00:49:49 I appreciate you being here.
00:49:50 Thank you.
00:49:51 OK, so the fifth NASA technology we want to dive deeper into is called ROLSYS, which stands
00:49:56 for Radio Wave Observations at the Lunar Surface of the Photo Electron Sheet.
00:50:02 There's going to be a quiz on that later, so I hope you all took that down.
00:50:05 ROLSYS will use four antennas and a low-frequency radio receiver system to determine how nearby
00:50:11 radio emissions from the sun, earth, and other planets could interact or interfere with science
00:50:17 conducted on the moon.
00:50:19 This experiment is something that has never been done before.
00:50:22 It will perform many tests, including detecting solar radio bursts, radio emissions from Jupiter,
00:50:28 and dust impacting the surface of the moon.
00:50:31 ROLSYS could even serve as a baseline for a future radio observatory on the lunar surface.
00:50:37 Let's get another update from Josh Marshall, who's standing by live at Intuitive Machines
00:50:40 headquarters in Houston.
00:50:43 Josh.
00:50:44 Hey, Megan.
00:50:47 When I asked our mission directors about what should I expect from launch vehicle separation
00:50:52 on until about AOS, and they said, "Oh, we're just going to be patiently waiting."
00:50:56 And after four years of hard work to get to this point, this must feel like an eternity.
00:51:02 Let's take a live look into Nova Control.
00:51:04 For some of the folks working today's launch and acquisition of Signal Shift, they've been
00:51:08 working on the IM-1 mission since before we were awarded the task order back in 2019.
00:51:15 Even folks that started in the past couple of years or the past few months have poured
00:51:19 their hearts and minds into this IM-1 mission.
00:51:22 In fact, every Thursday, Intuitive Machines holds a Lunch and Learn for folks to learn
00:51:27 more about the company.
00:51:29 And just a few days ago, one of our flight controllers, Brooklyn Herman, was describing
00:51:33 today's events and said the opportunity to land on the moon has been a dream for her
00:51:38 whole life.
00:51:39 And everyone at Intuitive Machines is part of this beautiful mission, an incredible opportunity.
00:51:45 And while we do have a moment just in between launch vehicle separation, we want folks at
00:51:49 home to know that that same sentiment echoes through everyone at Intuitive Machines.
00:51:54 We are humbled by the gravity of our mission, yet emboldened by the boundless possibilities
00:51:59 that lie ahead, starting with acquisition of Signal, which we expect to happen just
00:52:03 a few minutes after launch vehicle separation.
00:52:06 For now, our team will continue to patiently wait and toss it back to Florida to introduce
00:52:10 another IM-1 mission payload.
00:52:12 Megan?
00:52:13 Well said, Josh.
00:52:14 Okay, so the sixth and final payload has three telescopes that will help the spacecraft land
00:52:19 safely.
00:52:20 In the past, astronauts had to use a viewfinder or rely on radar.
00:52:25 So the Artemis program is taking NASA back to the moon, and everything that goes there,
00:52:30 including the instruments and people, must be flown there safely and landed there precisely.
00:52:36 So the landing phase of that task is one of the most critical aspects of it.
00:52:41 NDL is a LIDAR instrument that is used to enable that capability.
00:52:45 It uses light in the same way that sonar uses sound.
00:52:48 For NDL, we have three telescopes where light would come out of the telescope, hit the moon's
00:52:53 surface, and some of the light would be reflected back.
00:52:57 These telescopes are mounted on the outside of a vehicle so you get a clear view of the
00:53:00 ground as it's coming in for a landing.
00:53:03 In the Apollo era, large radars or astronauts using their eyes looking out of a viewport
00:53:10 were used to help land the vehicles.
00:53:12 NDL is going to have to take the burden off of the crew with a much smaller, lower power
00:53:18 and more accurate instrument.
00:53:21 Throughout the broadcast, we showed you each of the six NASA instruments that are bound
00:53:25 for the moon.
00:53:26 To talk more about those is NASA Project Scientist Deborah Needham.
00:53:29 Good morning, Tia.
00:53:30 Good morning.
00:53:31 Beautiful launch.
00:53:32 A beautiful launch.
00:53:33 So exciting.
00:53:34 So now we have six payloads bound for the moon.
00:53:36 You know, is there a common theme among them?
00:53:39 I would say there are two themes to the payloads onboard Intuitive Machines, the DSS lander.
00:53:44 The first is demonstrating technologies for enabling future spacecraft to land more safely
00:53:48 and more precisely on the lunar surface.
00:53:51 And the second is characterizing the surface of the lunar south polar region, which is
00:53:57 an extremely challenging environment to operate in.
00:54:00 And it's preparing us for sending humans to the lunar surface in advance of the Artemis
00:54:05 missions.
00:54:06 So, so very precise things they're being sent for to study.
00:54:10 So you know, if they make it to the moon in eight days, what happens next for each of
00:54:14 them?
00:54:15 So even the payloads work starts even before they get to the moon.
00:54:18 Intuitive Machines, while it's transiting towards the moon, will turn on the NASA payloads
00:54:23 to make sure that they survive launch and are operating as we expect.
00:54:27 And then you've heard about the RFMG, the radio frequency mass gauge.
00:54:31 It will be operating the entire time all the way to the moon and down to the surface to
00:54:35 make sure that it's monitoring propellants and collecting the data that it needs to achieve
00:54:40 its missions.
00:54:41 And then during descent, you heard about NBL, the navigation Doppler Lidar, and Scalps.
00:54:46 They're going to be operating during descent and collecting their data.
00:54:49 And then once on the moon, Intuitive Machines will turn on our other NASA payloads and they'll
00:54:53 take turns collecting data until they achieve their missions.
00:54:56 How are these instruments selected?
00:54:58 Early on in the CLPS initiative, NASA turned to our scientists at the NASA centers to identify
00:55:02 science payloads and technologies that were relatively mature in their designs.
00:55:09 We did that because we wanted the payloads to be ready for when the landers are ready
00:55:12 to integrate them onto the landers and deliver them to the moon.
00:55:16 So then NASA turned to the vendors and said, "Okay, you pick from this preselected list
00:55:21 of NASA payloads, which ones you think you can successfully integrate onto your landers
00:55:26 and deliver to the moon."
00:55:27 So Intuitive Machines actually chose the payloads that are on its delivery.
00:55:31 Deb, thank you so much.
00:55:32 I can't wait to see what we discover with these payloads.
00:55:35 Me too.
00:55:36 Thank you so much.
00:55:37 Thank you.
00:55:38 Okay, so now we're going to step aside while we await our next big milestone, the second
00:55:41 burn of the second stage of the Falcon 9 rocket.
00:55:44 And then right after that, the separation of Intuitive Machines' lunar lander from that
00:55:48 second stage.
00:55:49 We are expecting that to happen about 20 minutes from now.
00:55:52 So we will see you then.
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01:09:10 >> And welcome back to Kennedy Space Center, where we are currently awaiting the second burn
01:09:14 of the Falcon 9 second stage and separation of Intuitive Machines' lander.
01:09:19 This comes after a successful liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket with the Nova Cee lander called Odysseus
01:09:24 at 105 a.m. Eastern time.
01:09:27 Intuitive Machines, an American company based in Houston, Texas, developed and built the lunar lander
01:09:32 that is carrying, among other things, six NASA instruments.
01:09:36 And if everything goes as planned, in eight days, mark your calendars, February 22nd,
01:09:41 that Nova Cee lander is expected to land on the south side of the moon.
01:09:45 Let's go now to SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, where Jessie Anderson is live
01:09:50 as we await that second burn and then spacecraft separation, Jessie.
01:09:54 >> Great. Thanks, Megan.
01:10:00 Now we are about a minute and a half away from that second burn of that EMBAC engine.
01:10:06 Next coming up will be SES-2, that second stage engine start two, and that will be followed by SECO-2,
01:10:12 which is second stage engine cutoff.
01:10:15 This burn will last about 53 seconds and will help the vehicle to make it to its final targeted drop-off orbit.
01:10:23 Then the vehicle will coast for a few minutes prior to spacecraft separation.
01:10:29 So we are getting very close, and this is getting very exciting here.
01:10:34 Again, we are just about a minute away, just under a minute away, from that last burn of this EMBAC engine here.
01:10:51 Now, right now what you are seeing on your screen is an excellent view from the second stage,
01:10:57 looking at our EMBAC engine with the amazing view of Earth in the background there.
01:11:03 The IM-1 lunar lander is still currently attached to Falcon 9's second stage at this moment.
01:11:10 And again, SES-2 and SECO-2 are coming up here in just about 15 seconds or so.
01:11:18 And hoping to be able to continue these live views here so that we can see SES-1 and SECO-2.
01:11:43 And there you can see we have just had SES-1. You can see that EMBAC engine has now relit.
01:11:52 And this is just about a 53-second burn, so just under a minute.
01:11:57 And shutdown of this EMBAC engine coming up here in just about 10 seconds or so.
01:12:09 [SILENCE]
01:12:30 And there you can see the EMBAC engine.
01:12:35 The EMBAC engine has shut down, and we did hear that call-out for a confirmation of good orbit.
01:12:43 So with confirmation of a good orbit, it looks like we are on track for spacecraft separation
01:12:48 in just a few minutes from now, just about a little over five minutes.
01:12:53 Now, it's been a great launch so far. SpaceX did begin fueling of the IM-1 lander on the pad.
01:13:03 About two and a half -- about two hours and 20 minutes before liftoff.
01:13:07 And we did talk about that a little bit earlier in the webcast.
01:13:11 It's a totally new procedure and new hardware for SpaceX that enabled fueling of the IM-1 lander
01:13:17 on the pad with cryogenic methane and oxygen.
01:13:21 Now, to be able to do that, SpaceX teams modified Launch Complex 39A's pad and transporter director,
01:13:27 installing a new liquid oxygen tank, a methane tank, propellant lines, and two control skids on the transporter director.
01:13:35 And from there, the new propellant lines passed through a new stage-two quick disconnect
01:13:40 that attaches to new plumbing and another set of quick disconnects that lead to the IM-1 lander.
01:13:48 And given the lack of methane used on the Falcon program, Falcon teams actually leaned on the expertise
01:13:54 of Starship teams and used methane sensors from Starship to verify the health and status of the lander for our fueling system.
01:14:08 Now, if you're just now joining us, we are just about four minutes away.
01:14:12 We're awaiting spacecraft separation of the IM-1 lunar lander,
01:14:17 which is still currently attached to Falcon 9's second stage.
01:14:23 And we did just a couple of minutes ago had a good last and final burn of our EMVAC engine.
01:14:30 That was SES-2 and SECO-2.
01:14:33 And now the vehicle is continuing to coast with the spacecraft attached until it reaches the correct targeted drop-off orbit.
01:14:48 And just to recap, if you're just now joining us, we did have an on-time liftoff at 1.05 a.m. Eastern time.
01:14:55 And everything has been proceeding nominally.
01:14:57 Stage separation occurred just about two and a half minutes into flight.
01:15:01 And that was followed by the successful landing of our Falcon 9's first stage back at landing zone one, or LZ-1.
01:15:09 And that was the 18th landing for this specific booster.
01:15:14 Now, for those of you following along, this booster has supported GPS-3, Mission 3,
01:15:20 Turksat-5A, Transporter-2, Intelsat G-33 and G-34, Transporter-6, and 12 Starlink missions.
01:15:30 So pretty impressive and veteran booster for today's mission.
01:15:37 At about T-plus 7 minutes and 46 seconds, we did have a successful second engine cutoff, or SECO-1.
01:15:46 That was the first burn of the two burns for this mission.
01:15:50 That was followed by confirmation of good orbital insertion.
01:15:53 The vehicle was then able to coast for a bit there.
01:15:58 And then, again, just a few minutes ago, we did have the second burn for this EMVAC engine.
01:16:05 Those two burns required to reach the targeted drop-off orbit for this IM-1 lander.
01:16:11 And now the vehicle is coasting with payload attached, and we are just a couple of minutes away from spacecraft separation.
01:16:27 This EM-1 could become the first U.S. lunar lander since Apollo's last landing in 1972, almost 50 years ago,
01:16:37 and could be the first commercial lander to succeed in reaching the Moon's surface.
01:16:45 Again, we are just about a minute and a half, just under a minute and a half away from spacecraft separation.
01:16:53 And on your screen, as we wait to get some live views, you can see on your bottom right-hand screen the speed and the altitude of the Stage 2 vehicle,
01:17:04 again, still carrying the IM-1 spacecraft.
01:17:08 And there's that live view there.
01:17:10 Again, this is a view from the second stage vehicle looking aft at our EMVAC engine there.
01:17:21 And we are patiently waiting spacecraft separation here just under a minute from now.
01:17:42 And now that we have this live, perfect timing, we've got this great live view of the IM-1 lander right before it begins its eight-day journey to the Moon.
01:17:57 This is such an incredible view and very exciting that we have spacecraft separation coming up here in just a few seconds.
01:18:13 IM-1, Odysseus lunar lander separation confirmed.
01:18:26 What an incredible sight to see, the IM-1 NovaSea lunar lander drifting away from Falcon 9's second stage, confirming spacecraft separation.
01:18:38 From all of us here at SpaceX, we are wishing the IM-1 lander a great flight and safe travels.
01:18:45 SpaceX is honored to be a part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative to deliver science and technology to the lunar surface.
01:18:53 And we thank NASA and Intuitive Machines for entrusting us with today's historic mission to the Moon.
01:19:00 For those of you following along, you'll know that this mission marks our 14th of the year and second just today.
01:19:06 Congrats to the SpaceX team.
01:19:09 We're just in February and we've already launched in partnership with NASA missions like Axiom 3, Cygnus and Pace.
01:19:17 And we're gearing up for the Crew 8 mission before the end of the month.
01:19:22 Check out SpaceX.com/launches for up-to-date missions and schedules.
01:19:27 And before we sign off, let's go back to Josh at Intuitive Machines. Josh?
01:19:36 What an incredible, incredible view.
01:19:38 Just a few moments ago, our flight controllers inside of Nova Control heard that confirmation of launch vehicle separation.
01:19:45 This starts the countdown toward our lunar lander's autonomous commissioning.
01:19:49 During this milestone, the lander is going through the steps required to power on,
01:19:53 determine its position relative to the sun, and make communications contact with flight controllers in Nova Control.
01:19:59 It's an autonomous process that takes several minutes.
01:20:02 In that time, we'll walk you through what's happening in space approximately 223 kilometers, or 139 miles, from Earth.
01:20:10 At launch vehicle separation, a spring force gently pushes Nova C away from the launch vehicle's second stage.
01:20:17 We just saw that. Allowing the lander to deploy and drift away toward the moon.
01:20:22 Brake wires connected to the launch vehicle let the lander know it has deployed,
01:20:26 and Nova C starts an internal timer to count down to when it's safe to turn on.
01:20:32 After the timer finishes, Nova C's primary systems are expected to autonomously power on.
01:20:38 This includes guidance, navigation, and control, or GNC for short,
01:20:42 automated flight management software, radios, sensors, and thermal control.
01:20:47 The GNC system powers on the cold gas helium reaction control system to stabilize the vehicle's attitude,
01:20:54 because at this point, the lander does not know where it's pointed, but it can stop any residual spin motion.
01:21:00 This is much like a person spinning in a chair with closed eyes can stop spinning without knowing which way they're pointing when they stop.
01:21:08 After controlling the spin rate, special cameras, known as star trackers,
01:21:12 autonomously match images of the distant star field and provide Nova C with its orientation.
01:21:18 Software then takes those star tracker measurements and processes them through an algorithm known as the Kalman filter
01:21:24 to correct the onboard orientation.
01:21:27 The lander now has two critical data points, its attitude relative to the star field,
01:21:31 and a reference position from the estimated launch vector.
01:21:35 From these data points, Nova C may command its reaction control system
01:21:39 to maneuver the lander's top deck solar array toward the sun for illumination, generating maximum power.
01:21:45 All of these steps are expected to be happening right now, and when autonomous commissioning is complete,
01:21:51 our Nova C lander, named Odysseus, turns on its communication radios
01:21:55 and makes first communications contact, known as acquisition of signal, or AOS.
01:22:00 Making that communications connection involves more than the lander's operations in space.
01:22:04 It takes careful coordination here on Earth, too, using intuitive machines as a lunar data network.
01:22:10 The network was designed to support NASA's CLPS initiative, government services,
01:22:14 and other commercial efforts using line-of-sight and data relay services for spacecraft in cislunar space,
01:22:20 which also includes low Earth orbit.
01:22:23 The secure network is made up of Nova control, which we're keeping our eyes on right now,
01:22:28 and strategically placed ground stations spread across the globe.
01:22:31 The ground stations are expected to provide near-continuous communications with Nova C
01:22:35 during the entire IM-1 mission.
01:22:39 With that entire network available, our flight controllers responsible for communications
01:22:43 and ground stations will be the first people in Nova control to start seeing data from our lunar lander,
01:22:48 which means the ground station assigned to this part of the mission has locked onto Odysseus's signal.
01:22:55 Now, from the lander to Nova control, all of these innovations and capabilities are being put to the test right now
01:23:03 as we prepare to enter our nominal acquisition of signal window with Nova C.
01:23:07 Right now, we are listening into the mission audio loop and looking live into Nova control.
01:23:13 Let's just deliver us the OPM file.
01:23:16 Okay, copy. You're good to process in the background while we work contact.
01:23:19 Okay, I'll work with FIDO on this.
01:23:23 Right now, we estimate that the lunar lander is traveling about 10 kilometers per second,
01:23:28 which is about 24,600 miles per hour.
01:23:31 All right, I want to make sure Com's happy with it. Com?
01:23:35 Standing by.
01:23:37 I don't see packets updating in packet counts unless I'm looking in the wrong spot.
01:23:43 And I'm not seeing anything populate in AOS.
01:23:48 So we're still standing by for autonomous commissioning and making that first ground communications from the lunar lander in space.
01:23:59 We expect a carrier lock call to come from the Com or ground network stations inside of Nova control.
01:24:06 And this is Houston's first commanded lunar mission since Apollo 17.
01:24:11 All right, I see packets.
01:24:15 All right, guys.
01:24:18 And there we have it. We have packets.
01:24:21 That is Michaela Landovar on the ground.
01:24:24 Com, I want your report.
01:24:26 Uplink and downlink, what do we got?
01:24:29 Okay, so I am seeing packets populate on the AOS screen and in the packet counts area.
01:24:35 It looks like telemetry is coming in pretty well.
01:24:37 We have not started uplink, so we do not have uplink locks at this point.
01:24:42 But it looks like we are seeing most everything that we would expect as far as downlink.
01:24:50 That's an excellent call.
01:24:52 We have reached a pivotal milestone.
01:24:54 We're going to bring it back into the broadcast booth and congratulate the team working inside of Nova control
01:25:00 as our Nova C lunar lander has successfully separated from the second stage of the launch vehicle,
01:25:05 autonomously commissioned, and made first communications contact with Nova control.
01:25:11 What an achievement for the entire Intuitive Machines team.
01:25:15 Let's honor this momentous milestone and prepare for the challenges and triumphs that await us on our lunar journey.
01:25:23 From Intuitive Machines' Nova control in Houston, Texas,
01:25:26 thank you for joining our portion of the IM-1 mission broadcast.
01:25:29 We'll toss it back over to Megan in Florida for reaction to the successful launch of our IM mission.
01:25:36 Megan.
01:25:37 From here at NASA, we just want to say congrats to Josh and Intuitive Machines,
01:25:41 another successful CLPS launch and orbital insertion of a commercial lunar lander.
01:25:46 Now, hopes are high that a U.S. commercial lunar lander will make it to the moon.
01:25:52 Joining me now to talk a little bit more about that in this program is Chris Culbert,
01:25:55 and he is the CLPS program manager.
01:25:57 Exciting to see this unfold right in front of us, huh?
01:26:00 Yeah, this is great.
01:26:01 SpaceX gave them a wonderful ride, great launch, really clear sky.
01:26:05 We can see it all the way up to the--well, not to the moon, but on its way.
01:26:09 We saw the moon in the distance.
01:26:11 We saw it. We could see the moon.
01:26:12 It was a great launch. This is a great step.
01:26:14 It's a lot of hard work to get here.
01:26:15 This is five years of effort from a very small company, but they've made a lot of progress.
01:26:20 They solved a lot of problems, and now they're on their way.
01:26:23 So this is a good start, but it isn't the end yet.
01:26:26 They've got to finish the next step.
01:26:27 That's right, but at least we have eight days, right?
01:26:29 We do.
01:26:30 We have eight days.
01:26:31 Yeah, so they've got six days to get to the moon, and then we'll do the hard step.
01:26:34 Yeah, so with the challenge of landing on the lunar surface, what's your message to the Intuitive mission?
01:26:38 So the big thing right now, they need to stay focused.
01:26:41 Space is hard. Small mistakes can doom you.
01:26:44 We know they're very talented. They're very well organized.
01:26:47 We're really impressed with the depth and technical skills of this team, but you have to stay focused.
01:26:51 You've got to make sure you nail everything and stick the landing.
01:26:55 So, again, a lot to look forward to, but we're optimistic.
01:26:58 Yes, we are. We're looking forward to it.
01:27:00 I've got a lot of faith in these guys.
01:27:01 Great. Chris, thank you so much.
01:27:02 Glad to be here with you again for another CLIFFS launch.
01:27:05 Thank you very much.
01:27:06 Okay, so that is going to wrap up NASA Intuitive machines and SpaceX coverage of the launch of the Nova C moon lander
01:27:13 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 39A here at Kennedy Space Center.
01:27:17 Again, if all goes well, Nova C is expected to land on the moon eight days from now,
01:27:21 so mark your calendars, on February 22nd.
01:27:24 It will be the first U.S. landing on the moon since 1972.
01:27:29 We'll, of course, bring you that coverage live right here on NASA TV.
01:27:33 And until then, you can find out more about this mission and other NASA CLIFFS launches by going to the link we're about to show on the screen here,
01:27:40 nasa.gov/cliffs.
01:27:43 We're going to leave you now with a replay of today's launch for everyone here at NASA Intuitive machines and SpaceX.
01:27:49 I'm Megan Cruz, and have a great morning.
01:27:52 15 seconds.
01:27:57 T-minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ignition, and liftoff.
01:28:10 Go SpaceX, go IM-1 and the Odysseus lunar lander.
01:28:18 Vehicle pitching downrange.
01:28:22 Stage one propulsion is nominal.
01:28:41 Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, carrying the IM-1 payload.
01:28:50 During ascent, we tilt the engines, the technical term being gimbling, and that turns the rocket horizontally.
01:28:58 [rumbling]
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