Intuitive Machines – Spaceflight Now

Intuitive Machines’ CEO points to issues that prevented upright touchdown during IM-2 Moon landing

May 14, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

Steve Altemus, Intuitive Machines’ CEO, said the company is applying the learnings to the IM-3 mission, which is set to launch in the first half of 2026.

SpaceX launches Intuitive Machines’ 2nd Moon lander, 3 rideshare spacecraft

February 25, 2025 Will Robinson-Smith

The launch is a rideshare mission with secondary payloads from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, AstroForge and Epic Aerospace. Liftoff happened Wednesday, Feb. 26, at 7:16 p.m. EST (0016 UTC).

NASA unveils three teams to compete for crewed lunar rover demonstration mission

April 4, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

NASA awarded the so-called ‘Lunar Terrain Vehicle Service’ contract and classified it as an “indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, milestone-based LTVS contract with firm-fixed-price task orders.” The agency said it “has a combined maximum potential value of $4.6 billion for all awards.”

Intuitive Machines’ ‘Odysseus’ becomes first commercial lander to reach the Moon

February 22, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The IM-1 mission marked the first non-governmental lander to safely reach the Moon in history. The Nova-C lander named Odysseus landed at about 6:23 p.m. EST (2323 UTC).

Intuitive Machines’ Moon lander Odysseus reaches lunar orbit

February 21, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The spacecraft launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Feb. 15. It arrived in a 92 km circular orbit less than a week later.

SpaceX, Intuitive Machines launches robotic lander to the Moon

February 13, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

Intuitive Machines and SpaceX stood down from the first launch opportunity for the Nova-C lander. The Falcon 9 rocket supporting the mission is set to lift off on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 1:05 a.m. EST.

Three robotic missions target Moon landings over one week in January

December 6, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

In a blend of interesting circumstances and happenstance, two private companies and Japan’s space agency are all poised to land on the Moon in the back half of January 2024.

Private astronaut mission likely first to use SpaceX’s new crew access tower

November 6, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

A crew access arm was lifted into place at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral on Monday, as SpaceX races to ready the pad for its first Crew Dragon launch with astronauts as soon as January.

Intuitive Machines targets launch to the Moon in mid-January

October 27, 2023 Will Robinson-Smith

The first lunar lander aiming for a touchdown at the Moon’s south pole has a new launch date. Intuitive Machines said Friday it is targeting the launch of its Nova-C lander on the IM-1 mission for no earlier than January 12, 2024.

NASA selects proposals to demonstrate in-space refueling and propellant depot tech

October 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA has selected 14 companies for contracts of more than $370 million to advance technology for human missions to the moon and Mars. Most of the money will support flight demonstrations by SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and other companies that could lead to in-space refueling and propellant depots for reusable lunar landers and deep space transportation vehicles.