WASHINGTON — Intuitive Machines said Dec. 19 it is delaying the launch of its first lunar lander mission a month to mid-February, citing changes in SpaceX’s launch manifest.
The Houston-based company had been planning a launch of its IM-1 mission in a window between Jan. 12 and 16 on a Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. That pad is the only one that can support the launch because it has equipment to fuel the lander with liquid oxygen and methane propellants on the pad shortly before launch.
In a statement, Intuitive Machines said that it agreed with SpaceX to delay the launch to the next available window in mid-February, saying that “unfavorable weather conditions resulted in shifts in the SpaceX launch manifest.”
That is an apparent reference to the Falcon Heavy launch of the U.S. military’s X-37B spaceplane, which had been scheduled for earlier in the month. That launch has now slipped to no earlier than Dec. 28, although that delay is primarily due to technical issues with the rocket and not weather.
Converting LC-39A from Falcon Heavy to Falcon 9 is a process that takes, on average, about three weeks, based on the time between the four Falcon Heavy launches so far this year and subsequent Falcon 9 launches on that pad. Even the shortest gap, about 17 days, would push the IM-1 launch towards the end of its window.
Intuitive Machines said its lander, which was shipped to Florida earlier in the month, has completed various pre-launch processing milestones and is ready to be integrated onto the Falcon 9 rocket.
The company had hoped to launch IM-1 in mid-November and displayed the completed lander at a media event at its Houston headquarters in early October. However, company officials warned at the time of “pad congestion” and, on Oct. 27, the company announced it was delaying the launch to a window that opened Jan. 12. Intuitive Machines did not give a detailed explanation for the delay but, in a…
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