SpaceX performs double launch from Florida, including the US’ next lunar landing attempt

On Valentines Day SpaceX showed us its love for lifting rockets off into space with a double header from both LC-39A and SLC-40. The two launches, roughly eight hours apart, were for Intuitive Machines‘ Nova-C lunar lander and a classified payload for the US Space Force.

SpaceX launches two missions in a matter of hours

While other companies are working on catching up to SpaceX rocket capabilities, cost, and reusability, one thing that the company is and most likely will be king at for a while is rapid launches. Unlike many of there launchers, SpaceX operates two launch pads at Florida’s Space Coast, allowing them to prepare two rockets for launch simultaneously.

Pair that with the company’s third site over in California, which we’re expecting a launch later tonight to make it three in 24 hours, Falcon 9s have the ability to launch at an astounding rate.

Yesterday SpaceX launched two missions out of Florida, USSF-124 and Intuitive Machines IM-1 Nova-C lunar lander. While the first mission is a classified satellite we’ll probably never know anything about, IM-1’s mission was funded by NASA to hopefully return the US back to the lunar surface in over 50 years.

Part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services contract, Intuitive Machines offers NASA research payloads its Nova-C lander to arrive at its destination. While this is a NASA program, with NASA funded instruments onboard, the IM-1 flight is a commercial mission that also features commercial payloads.

These missions will serve as the start of lunar exploration of NASA’s Artemis Program, well before humans return. NASA’s goal, similar to low Earth orbit, will be to build a commercial market for lunar exploration, bring pricing down and making Artemis more sustainable.

Not everything will be fully commercial, NASA and its international partners are still working on building Gateway, the lunar space station, and Orion is still the only ride available for astronauts out to deep space.

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Will this finally be the one for commercial lunar landers?

Now this is not the first of these CLPS missions to be launch for NASA. Astrobotic‘s first lander lifted off on Vulcan’s inaugural launch in January. With NASA involvement the hopes were high that it would be the first successful commercial lander, however, it did not.

Astrobotic’s Peregrine lander suffered a failure in its propulsion system, rupturing a propellent tank and forced the mission to scrub its landing on the Moon. A few weeks later, the lander reentered Earth’s atmosphere, burning itself and its payloads up in the process.

Intuitive Machines now has its chance to claim its spot in spaceflight history. It has had the chance to learn from previous landers mistakes but there’s nothing as real as launching and flying the mission in space.

So far the lander is operating well, with it on a nominal path towards the Moon and in communication with Earth. Landing is expected to take place on February 22 where IM-1 will use its liquid methane and oxygen powered engine to land on the Moon, another first.