SpaceX launches Nova-C interplanetary station to the Moon
SpaceX launches Nova-C interplanetary station to the Moon (twitter.com/SpaceX)
The Intuitive Machines' Odysseus probe has lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in an ambitious bid to achieve the first successful American lunar landing since the Apollo program over 50 years ago, according to Science et Vie.
The Odysseus spacecraft, belonging to Intuitive Machines, took flight early this morning with its sights set on the Moon. The Falcon 9 rocket soared into the skies from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:05 AM Kyiv time.
This marked the 18th voyage for the reliable carrier rocket, which gracefully returned for a pinpoint landing at Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral at 8:13.
Deployment of @Int_Machines IM-1 confirmed pic.twitter.com/daPrWFkVng
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 15, 2024
Odysseus is now maneuvering into lunar orbit, embarking on its journey to the Moon. The scheduled lunar landing is set for February 22.
If successful, the Nova-C (IM-1) mission will mark a significant milestone as the first American mission to touch down on the Moon since the conclusion of the Apollo program in 1972.
Liftoff of IM-1! pic.twitter.com/Knl3Y1sGo2
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 15, 2024
In other space news, it was reported earlier that SpaceX, the American aerospace manufacturer, launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying two reconnaissance satellites for the German Ministry of Defense. The SARah-2 mission deployed two reconnaissance satellites equipped with synthetic aperture radar for German military applications.
