SpaceX and Intuitive Machines struggle with unexpected technical difficulties
As a result of problems with fuel temperature, SpaceX has decided to postpone the launch of the privately owned Intuitive Machines lunar lander. The scheduled launch of the Odysseus lunar lander on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida was scheduled for February 14. However, the new launch date is set for Thursday, February 15th.
Lunar lander «Odyssey» developed by Intuitive Machines and runs on liquid methane. This fuel was supposed to be loaded into the apparatus just before launch. However, during preparatory activities, SpaceX discovered an «incorrect methane temperature», according to information from NASA.
The device will deliver six NASA instruments, as well as commercial cargo, to the Moon. SpaceX and Intuitive Machines were given a three-day window to launch — from February 14 to 16 in order to reach the Moon by February 22. If unsuccessful, the next launch attempt will be rescheduled for March.
The mission, called IM-1, will be Intuitive Machines' first attempt to reach the Moon. The target of the study is a crater near the south pole of the Moon. If successful, «Odysseus» will be the first privately owned spacecraft on the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission ended in 1972.
In addition, the IM-1 mission is the second mission of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, which uses private spacecraft to deliver scientific instruments to the Moon. In January of this year, another private company, Astrobotic, attempted to deliver its Peregrine lander to the Moon, but a fuel leak aborted the attempt and the craft returned to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere.
A team of NASA scientists and Intuitive Machines specialists hope that the mission will be successful and will be able to cope with those tasks that could not be completed in the previous Peregrine mission. The craft carries new experimental technology, including cameras and other equipment, that will help NASA more accurately study the lunar surface and its environmental conditions.