Houston-based Intuitive Machines and NASA declared this evening that IM’s Odysseus spacecraft successfully landed on the Moon. The final hours were filled with drama, but the company says Odysseus is upright and starting to send back data, making it the first U.S. lunar lander since 1972 and the first successful commercial lunar lander.
Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 successfully entered lunar orbit today, readying for its scheduled landing tomorrow afternoon at 5:30 pm ET. IM-1’s lander, Odysseus, will take about an hour to descend from orbit to the surface once the command is given. If all goes well, Odysseus will be the first U.S. lander on the Moon since 1972, the first successful commercial lander, and will land closer to the Moon’s South Pole than any other spacecraft.
Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com over the last week, February 12-18, 2024, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of February 18-24, 2024 and any insight we can offer about them. The House and Senate are in recess except for pro forma sessions.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries succeeded in launching the new H3 rocket today almost a year after the first attempt failed. H3 will replace Japan’s existing H-IIA, providing more lift capability at lower cost.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed today that Russia is developing a “troubling” antisatellite, or ASAT, capability, but stressed it is not an immediate threat. Kirby was reacting to speculation in the press following statements by Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) yesterday that Turner said revealed a serious national security threat. Citing anonymous sources, several media outlets asserted the matter involves Russia’s development of a nuclear ASAT. Kirby declined to provide many details, but tamped down concerns that any threat is imminent.
A U.S. spacecraft is once again on its way to the Moon. If successful, it will be the first U.S. lunar lander since the Apollo era. Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic tried last month, but its Peregrine lander suffered a propulsion failure. Now Houston-based Intuitive Machines is hoping to enter the history books not only with the first U.S. landing since 1972, but the closest to the Moon’s South Pole.
A congressional hearing today illuminated a wide range of policy issues awaiting resolution as the International Space Station nears its end, but the answers remain elusive. The ISS is expected to be decommissioned in 2030 and NASA is counting on the private sector to build new space stations in low Earth orbit, or LEO, where NASA can be just one of many customers. But timing is a challenge and the overriding concern is to avoid a gap between ISS and whatever comes next lest the only space station in LEO belongs to China.
Here are links to all the articles published on SpacePolicyOnline.com over the past two weeks, January 29-February 11, 2024, including our “What’s Happening in Space Policy” for this coming week. Click on each title to read the entire article.
Here is SpacePolicyOnline.com’s list of space policy events for the week of February 11-17, 2024 and any insight we can offer about them. The House is in session this week. The Senate’s schedule is uncertain.