♪.
>> TONIGHT, WE'RE GOING TO THE
MOON.
AND THIS SpaceX FALCON 9
ROCKET IS TAKING US THERE.
ON BOARD IS A LUNAR LANDER
BUILT BY INTUITIVE MACHINES.
CARRYING SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY INVESTIGATIONS FROM
NASA'S LUNAR PAYLOAD SERVICES
INITIATIVE.
THIS WILL HELP PAVE THE WAY
FOR HUMANITY TO LIVE AND WORK
AT MOON.
HELLO, AND WELCOME EVERYONE TO
THE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER IN
FLORIDA.
I'M NASA'S TA HERA ALLEN AND
THIS IS JOSH MARSHALL, THE
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR
INTUITIVE MACHINES.
JOSH, IT IS SO GREAT TO HAVE
YOU HERE TODAY.
>> WHEW.
>> IT IS GOOD TO BE BACK, AND
WHAT A DIFFERENCE ONE YEAR CAN
MAKE.
WE'RE BACK OUT ON THE LAUNCH
PAD WITH ANOTHER LUNAR LANDER
AND MATURING COMMERCIAL SPACE
PROGRAM THAT'S READY TO
SUPPORT COMMERCIAL PARTNERS,
AND, OF COURSE, NASA.
>> WE ARE SO EXCITED TO BE
BACK ON THE LAUNCH PAD WITH
YOU.
LIFTOFF OF INTUITIVE MACHINES
MOON LANDER IS SCHEDULED FOR
7:16:30 EASTERN TIME.
EVERYTHING IS A GO FOR LAUNCH.
IF ALL GOES AS PLANNED, THAT
LANDER WILL COMPLETE ITS
JOURNEY ABOUT EIGHT DAYS FROM
NOW AT MONS MOUTON, 100 MILES
FROM THE LUNAR SOUTH POLE AND
THE FARTHEST ATTEMPT FOR A
LUNAR LANDING.
ONE OF THE GOALS IS TO GAIN
INSIGHTS INTO SOIL
CHARACTERISTICS AND, OH, MY
GOODNESS FOR INTUITIVE
MACHINES.
>> I'LL TRY TO SUM IT UP FOR
YOU, WE STARTED THIS MANTRA,
IF PEOPLE SEE YOUR EXCELLENCE
AND THAT YOU DO THE THINGS
THAT YOU SAY YOU'RE GOING TO
DO, EXCEED THOSE EXPECTATIONS
AND AFTER OUR FIRST MISSION,
WE HAVE ROOM TO GROW, AND THIS
MOMENT IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY
TO PUSH THAT BAR FORWARD, GET
HARDWARE TO SPACE AND SHOW
PEOPLE WHAT INTUITIVE MACHINES
IS CAPABLE OF.
>> YOU ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED SO
MUCH, SO GOOD LUCK TONIGHT.
THERE ARE MORE THAN A DOZEN
NASA AND COMMERCIAL
INSTRUMENTS HEADED TO THE MOON
TONIGHT.
WE'RE GOING TO WALK YOU
THROUGH THEM OVER THE NEXT
HOUR AND A HALF.
FIRST, JOSH, TELL US ABOUT
YOUR SPACECRAFT, WE HAVE A
REPLICA OF HER RIGHT HERE,
THAT'S SENDING ALL THIS NEW
TECHNOLOGY TO THE MOON.
>> FIRST OFF, WE LOVE HER AND
HER NAME IS ATHENA, INCLUDING
HER SOLAR PANELS, JUST OVER 14
FEET TALL WITH THE LANDING
GEAR, JUST SHY OF 15 FEET
WIDE, THE LENGTH OF A STANDARD
CAR PARKING SPOT.
THE LUNAR LANDER WEIGHS 1500
POUNDS AND CAPABLE OF
DELIVERING 220 POUNDS OF
PAYLOAD TO THE LUNAR SURFACE.
>> THAT IS A LOT OF SCIENCE.
WE TALKED ABOUT HAVING
COMMERCIAL INSTRUMENTS ON
BOARD THE LANDER, CAN YOU WALK
US THROUGH SOME OF THE
PAYLOADS ON ATHENA?
>> ABSOLUTELY.
WE HAVE LUNAR OUTPOST MATT
ROVER, NOKIA ON THIS SIDE AND
IF YOU PIVOT BACK, LOAN STAR
DATA HOLDINGS DATA CENTER
HERE.
I WANT TO TALK ABOUT ONE OF
THE PAYLOADS THAT HELPED SOLVE
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES OF IM-1,
REGULATING THE THERMAL, WE
BROUGHT IN THIS TOMORROW,
CALLED OMNI SHADE SUN
DEFLECTOR AND REGULATES
EXTREME HEAT AND EXTREME COLD
THAT THE LANDER EXPERIENCES ON
THE SOLAR ARRAY.
>> WOW, THAT'S INCREDIBLE.
SO ALL THE COMMERCIAL PAYLOADS
THAT YOU'VE BEEN POINTING OUT,
THEY'RE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE
LANDER.
AS I UNDERSTAND IT, ATHENA'S
FUEL TANKS ARE ON THE INSIDE
OF THE STRUCTURE.
>> YOU GOT IT RIGHT.
WHAT THAT REQUIRES IS
EXTREMELY COLD FUEL TO BE
LOADED INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE.
THAT FUELING PROCESS STARTED
ABOUT THREE HOURS BEFORE
LAUNCH AND FUELING STOPS JUST
BEFORE LIFTOFF.
>> WHAT IS REALLY COOL, TO
MEET THE REQUIREMENTS, SpaceX
DEVELOPED A WAY TO FUEL THE
LANDER ALREADY ATTACHED TO THE
ROCKET AND ON THE PAD.
NOW, LET'S HEAD ON OVER TO
SpaceX AND MISSION CONTROL IN
HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA.
>> THANKS, TAHIRA, I'M FALCON
PRINCIPAL INTEGRATION ENGINEER
AT SPACICS.
>> IM-2 MARKS 24th MISSION OF
THE YEAR AFTER BUSY 2024 WHERE
WE LAUNCHED 134 RECORD
BREAKING MISSIONS, IM-1 IS THE
FIRST COMMERCIAL LUNAR LANDER
TO LAND ON THE MOON AND THE
BLUE GHOST 1 MISSION JUST LAST
MONTH.
WE'RE EXCITED TO PARTNER WITH
NASA AS PART OF THE COMMERCIAL
LUNAR PAYLOAD SERVICES
INITIATIVE WHICH YOU WILL HEAR
US REFER TO AS CLPS.
>> SpaceX WAS PLANNED WITH THE
GOAL OF PLANETARY AND TODAY'S
MISSION FURTHERS THAT GOAL BY
HELPING SCIENTISTS LEARN MORE
ABOUT THE RESOURCES ON THE
MOON.
WE'LL HAVE MORE ON SpaceX'S
PART IN BUILDING OUR FUTURE IN
SPACE IN JUST A FEW MINUTES.
>> WE'RE CURRENTLY AT T-MINUS
JUST UNDER 41 MINUTES FROM
LIFTOFF.
WHILE THE COUNTDOWN CONTINUES,
LET'S TAKE A MOMENT TO MEET
THE FALCON 9 TAKING IM-2 TO
SPACE TODAY.
>> ON THE SCREEN, YOU SEE
FALCON 9 ON LAUNCH SPACE 39A
THE FIRST ORBITAL CLASS ROCKET
CAPABLE OF REFLIGHT.
FIRST STAGE, THE TALLEST
PORTION OF THE VEHICLE MARKED
ON THE SCREEN PROVIDES 1.7
MILLION POUNDS OF THRUST
THANKS TO 9 MERLIN 1B ENGINES.
>> THAT'S RIGHT, AND NEAR THE
TOP OF THE SECOND STAGE
POWERED BY THE MERLIN VACUUM
ENGINE OR M-VAC, WHILE THIS IS
SIMILAR TO THE MERLIN 1D ON
THE FIRST STAGE, THIS HAS A
LARGE NOZZLE WHICH ALLOWS IT
TO PERFORM MORE EFFICIENTLY IN
THE VACUUM OF SPACE.
FIRST STAGE GETS US OUT OF THE
EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE INTO SPACE
AND THE SECOND STAGE TAKES THE
PAY LED TO TARGETED DROP-OFF
LOCATION.
THE LARGE BARREL STRUCTURE
WITH THE POINTED NOSE AT THE
TOP OF THE VEHICLE IS THE
PAYLOAD FERRING AND COMPOSED
OF TWO HALVES MADE OF
COMPOSITE MATERIAL THAT COME
TOGETHER TO PROTECT THE
PAYLOAD UNTIL WE'RE IN THE
VACUUM OF SPACE.
>> NOW THE INTUITIVE MACHINES
LANDERS NEED TO BE FIELDED ON
THE PAD WITH CRYOGENIC METHANE
AND OXYGEN STARTING 2 1/2
HOURS BEFORE LAUNCH.
AHEAD OF THE IM-1 LAUNCH LAST
YEAR, SpaceX TEAMS HAD TO
MODIFY 39A, WE INSTALLED
LIQUID OXYGEN AND METHANE
TANKS, PUT PROPELLANT LINES IN
AND PUT MORE OF THIS TO
SUPPORT THE INTUITIVE MACHINES
MISSIONS.
ATHENA, TODAY'S LANDER, WENT
THROUGH THE SAME LATE LOAD OF
PROPELLANT, WE HAVE FINISHED
UP PROPELLANT LOADING.
METHANE ISN'T TYPICALLY USED
IN THE FALCON PROGRAM SO THEY
HAD TO LEAN ON THE EXPERTISE
OF STARSHIP TEAMS TO VERIFY
THE HEALTH AND STATUS OF THE
LANDER AND FUELING SYSTEM.
>> AND SPEAKING OF ATHENA, THE
LANDER ARRIVED IN FLORIDA IN
JANUARY, AND SINCE THEN TEAMS
HAVE BEEN INTEGRATING THE
SPACECRAFT TO FALCON 9 IN
SECOND STAGE IN PREPARATION
FOR A LAUNCH.
CONTINUES TO A SMOOTH
COUNTDOWN TODAY AND THE SpaceX
TEAM WILL BEGIN PROPELLANT
LOADING AT T-MINUS 35 MINUTES.
WE'RE LOOKING GOOD FOR ON-TIME
LIFTOFF AND CHECK IN WITH
TAHIRA AND JOSH AT KENNEDY.
>> AS WE MENTIONED, THERE ARE
MORE THAN A DOZEN INSTRUMENTS
ON BOARD ATHENA.
>> WE'RE GOING TO WALK YOU
THROUGH THEM TO SHOW HOW THEY
INFORM HOW ASTRONAUTS LIVE AND
WORK ON THE LUNAR SURFACE IN
THE FUTURE.
>> LET'S JUMP INTO THE NASA
TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATIONS.
WE HAVE THE PRIME-1 SUITE,
POLAR RESOURCES ICE MINING
EXPERIMENTS, IT CONSISTS OF
THE TRIDENT DRILL HERE AND THE
MASS SPECTROMETER, AND JOINING
US IS JACKIE QUINN, THANK YOU
FOR JOINING US.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> LET'S START WITH THE
INSTRUMENT HERE, THE TRIDENT
DRILL.
CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH HOW
THIS WORKS?
>> THIS IS A LIFE-SIZED
RENDITION OF THE TRIDENT
DRILL, THE EXACT SIZE WE'RE
GOING TO SEND TO THE LUNAR
SURFACE.
>> IT'S BIG.
>> DESIGNED AND BUILT BY HONEY
BEE ROBOTICS AND HAS THE
ABILITY TO SAMPLE DOWN TO A
METER DEPTH, THREE FEET, AND
GOES DOWN IN FOUR INCH
SECTIONS AND GO DOWN FOUR
INCHES, COLLECT THE LUNAR
REGULITH, THE FLUTES OF THE
DRILL, DEPOSIT ON THE SURFACE
AND GOES DOWN ANOTHER 4" AND
DEPOSITS SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL IT
REACHES TERMINAL DEPTH.
ONE OF THE COOL THINGS ABOUT
THE TRIDENT DRILL IT HAS A
TEMPERATURE SENSOR IN THE TIP
OF THE DRILL.
AS WE'RE GOING DOWN, WE'LL
TAKE TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENTS
AT DIFFERENT DEPTHS ALONG THE
WAY, SO WE'LL GET THE FIRST
THERMAL IN-SITU READINGS, IT'S
FIRST ROBOTIC DRILL IN THE
LUNAR SOUTH POLE.
VERY COOL.
>> T-MINUS 10 SECONDS,
AUTOMATED FOR THE REMAINDER OF
THE COUNT.
>> JACKIE, PAIRED WITH TRIDENT
IS THE MASS SPECTROMETER, THE
SECOND PART OF PRIME-1.
HOW ARE WE ABLE TO USE THE
DRILL IN CONCERT WITH THE MASS
SPECTROMETER.
>> THIS IS M-SOLO.
M-SOLO IS COMMERCIALLY
AVAILABLE MASS SPECTROMETER
BUILT BY INFO CON, WHICH THEY
USE FOR THE HARSH ENVIRONMENT
OF SPACE.
THE M-SOLO WORKS IN TANDEM
WITH TRIDENT.
WHEN TRIDENT BRINGS UP THE
SOIL AND DEPOSITS IT ON THE
SURFACE, IT GIVES ENOUGH
ENERGY THAT THE FROZEN GAS
MOLECULES ARE SITTING,
RESIDING ON THE GRAINS OF THE
SOIL, ACTUALLY SUBLIMATE INTO
THE VACUUM OF SPACE.
WHEN THAT HAPPENS THE MASS
SPECTROMETER IS ABLE TO TELL
US WHICH SPECIFIC GASES WE'RE
SEEING AND WHAT QUANTITY IS
THERE?
>> AND SO JACKIE, REAL QUICK,
CAN YOU GIVE US THE BIG
PICTURE?
WHAT DOES PRIME-1 SUITE
CONTRIBUTE TO THE OVERALL GOAL
OF LONG-TERM HUMAN PRESENCE OF
THE MOON?
>> SO RIGHT NOW, I WOULD SAY
WE'RE FAIRLY TETHERED TO EARTH
AS HUMAN EXPLORERS, AND WE
WANT TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A
SUSTAINED PRESENCE ON THE
MOON, ON MARS, ON ANY
CELESTIAL BODY.
WE NEED TO LIVE OFF THE LAND,
IF WE LOOK AT EXPLORERS, LEWIS
AND CLARK THAT WENT FROM
MISSOURI TO THE PACIFIC, THEY
WERE ABLE TO DO IT BECAUSE
THEY LIVED OFF THE LAND, THEY
GATHERED THE FOOD AND
VEGETABLES, HUNTED, DRANK
WATER.
WE AS EXPLORERS OF SPACE, NEED
TO LIVE OFF THE LAND AS WELL.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO GET THE
WATER IF IT'S THERE AND
HARNESS IT FOR CREATING FUEL
AND OXYGEN.
THAT'S WHAT PRIME-1 WILL DO,
GIVE US THE FIRST KEY
ENGINEERING COMPONENTS AND
ALLOW US TO DESIGN FUTURE
SYSTEMS.
>> THAT IS SO EXCITING,
JACKIE.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
>> APPRECIATE BEING HERE.
GO PRIME-1.
>> SOUNDS LIKE WE GOT A CALL
OUT THAT PROPELLANT LOADING IS
UNDERWAY.
THAT IS GREAT TO HEAR.
ALSO ABOARD ATHENA IS THE
LASER REFLECTOR, YOU CAN THINK
OF THEM AS MIRRORS DESIGNED TO
USE REFLECTIVE LIGHT FROM
ORBITING SPACECRAFT LASER TO
LANDERS BETTER ON THE SURFACE.
>> IT HAS BEEN USED SINCE THE
APOLLO ERA.
>> AND NOW WE'RE LOOKING
FORWARD TO A NEW ERA OF LUNAR
EXPLORATION WITH NASA'S
COMMERCIAL PAYLOAD SERVICES
INITIATIVE.
HERE'S WHY WE'RE TEAMING UP
WITH AMERICAN COMPANIES TO
DEVELOP THE LUNAR SURFACE.
>> OUR MOON, IT SEEMS SO CLOSE
IN THE NIGHT SKY, BUT GETTING
THERE IS REALLY HARD, BUT WHAT
IF THERE WAS A WAY TO CHANGE
THAT?
ONLY A FEW NATIONS HAVE
SUCCESSFULLY LANDED ON THE
MOON.
AS NASA ASTRONAUTS HEAD BACK
TO THE LUNAR SURFACE TO STAY,
WE WILL NEED TO SEND SCIENCE
AND TECHNOLOGY INSTRUMENTS
AHEAD OF TIME TO LATE
FOUNDATION FOR HUMAN
EXPLORATION.
TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, NASA IS
HELPING ESTABLISH A COMMERCIAL
LUNAR ECONOMY FOR THE FIRST
TIME EVER, THERE WILL BE
COMMERCIAL DELIVERY SERVICES
TO THE MOON.
WE ARE ENABLING AMERICAN
COMPANIES TO SEND OUR PAYLOADS
TO THE LUNAR SURFACE FOR US.
THESE DELIVERY SERVICES WILL
EXPAND OUR CAPABILITIES FOR
EXPLORATION, RADICALLY
INCREASING THE AMOUNT SCIENCE
WE ACHIEVE.
THIS HIGH-RISK, HIGH-REWARD
INNOVATION WILL LAUNCH A
COMMERCIAL LUNAR MARKETPLACE,
ADVANCING TECHNOLOGY AND
EXPLORATION FOR ALL OF US.
WITH THIS NEVER BEFORE SEEN
STREAMLINED ACCESS TO THE
MOON, WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE
NOVEL MEASUREMENTS AND DEVELOP
TECHNOLOGIES THAT SCIENTISTS
HAVE LONG WANTED TO DO ON THE
LUNAR SURFACE, AND AS THIS NEW
INDUSTRY MATURES, THIS
COMMERCIAL DELIVERY SERVICE
FOR NASA AND OTHER CUSTOMERS
COULD EXPAND BEYOND THE MOON
TO OTHER DESTINATIONS IN OUR
SOLAR SYSTEM, AND WE CAN LEARN
TO LIVE ON ANOTHER WORLD
BECAUSE WE ARE EXPLORERS.
>> JOSH, ONE THING I THINK IS
SUPER COOL ABOUT TONIGHT'S
DELIVERY LED BY INTUITIVE
MACHINES IS THAT IT'S
CONTROLLED FROM YOUR MISSION
CONTROL.
IT IS A SUPER UNIQUE SETUP.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
LET'S TAKE A LIVE LOOK AT NOVA
CONTROL, THE NERVE CENTER OF
OUR ENTIRE PROGRAM AT
INTUITIVE MACHINES.
STARTING NOW, WE HAVE THREE
PRIMARY FLIGHT CONTROLLER
TEAMS WORKING 24/7 TO MONITOR,
COMMAND AND CONTROL OUR LUNAR
LANDER DURING JOURNEY TO THE
MOON AND ATHENA'S MISSION TO
THE LUNAR SURFACE.
HERE'S A CLOSER LOOK HOW
ATHENA MAY ACCOMPLISH HER
MISSION?
>> ATHENA'S MISSION MAY
PROVIDE THE WISDOM REQUIRED TO
DEFINE HOW WILL HUMANITY LIVE
AND WORK ON THE MOON?
>> THESE KIND OF QUESTIONS
WHERE WE GO FROM BEING
OBSERVERS OF THE MOON TO
BUILDERS ON THE MOON, THIS IS
A FIRST STEP TO ANSWER THOSE
KINDS OF QUESTIONS.
>> HER ROUTE TO UNLOCKING THE
MOON'S SECRETS FOLLOWS THE
SAME PATH AS AN OLD FRIEND.
>> SEPARATION CONFIRMED.
>> Reporter: SMALL ENGINE
FIRINGS REFINE ATHENA'S
TRAJECTORY BEFORE APPROACHING
ORBIT.
>> IT'S ABOUT A 900-METER PER
SECOND MANEUVER, IT'S A BIG
BURN.
>> Reporter: IN ORBIT, ATHENA
CHECKS ON PAYLOADS INCLUDING
LONE STAR'S DATA CENTER.
>> WE'RE GOING IN ORBIT, DOING
THE THINGS DO YOU WITH
SATELLITES, THIS IS SIMILAR TO
WHAT WE DO WITH ORBIT AND COM
SATELLITES STARTING WITH
ENGINE 3.
>> IT SENDS ATHENA INTO LOWER
ORBIT TO PREPARE FOR A FINAL
600-SECOND BURN MANEUVER TO
THE SURFACE.
>> IT'S A NICE RIDE.
THE ENGINE PROVIDE ACE STEADY
LEVEL OF THRUST, IT DOES PICK
UP AS WE DEPLETE FUEL, BUT WE
CONTROL IT.
>> FINALLY ATHENA'S MISSION
DELIVERING SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY
AND SERVICES THAT MAY ENABLE
HUMANITY TO LIVE, WORK AND
EXPLORE DEEPER INTO THE SOLAR
SYSTEM.
>> IT'S DEFINITELY A GREAT
FEAT.
[ CHEERS ]
>> ONCE YOU ARE THERE, YOU
WANT TO EXPAND FROM THE
LANDING SPOT AND LOOK AT
DIFFERENT THINGS.
>> FOR APPROXIMATELY TEN DAYS
ATHENA IS DEPLOYING A ROVER,
SEND A ROCKET-FUELED DRONE
INTO A CRATER AND CONNECT THE
SPACECRAFT USING NOKIA'S
4G/LTE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.
>> WE HAVE PEOPLE TO BUILD,
OPERATE AND FLY SPACE
EQUIPMENT.
IT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE HEAR.
IT'S WHO WE ARE.
>> IN ADDITION TO ATHENA,
INTUITIVE MACHINES AND NASA
DEVELOPED A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND
TECHNOLOGY CALLED THE MICRO
NOVA HOPPER FOR IM-2.
WE'RE JOINED BY TRENT MARTIN,
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF SPACE
SYSTEMS AT INTUITIVE MACHINES
TO TALK ABOUT THE HOPPER.
TRENT, WELCOME.
I HEAR OVER AT INTUITIVE
MACHINES, YOU ALL CALL THE
MICRO NOVA THE GRACE HOPPER.
>> OUR PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE
HOPPER NAMED IT AFTER GRACE
HOPPER, A PIONEER IN SOFTWARE
PROGRAMMING.
>> WHAT SUCH A FITTING NAME
FOR ANOTHER PIONEERING
TECHNOLOGY.
HOPPER HAD BIG SUPPORT FROM
NASA'S SPACE TECHNOLOGY
MISSION DIRECTORATE THROUGH A
TIPPING POINT AWARD.
YOU CAN EXPLAIN WHY THAT IS?
WHAT IS IT ABOUT GRACE THAT
HAS EVERYBODY SO EXCITED?
>> WE HAVE DECIDED WE WERE
LOOKING FOR TECHNOLOGY THAT
COULD BE UTILIZED TO GO TO
EXTREME LOCATIONS ON THE MOON.
IN PARTICULAR, PLACES THAT
ROVERS COULDN'T GO.
WE SETTLED ON THE HOPPER AND
STARTED WORKING THROUGH THE
HOPPER THROUGH THE TIPPING
POINT OPPORTUNITY, WE'RE ABLE
TO FUND THAT, FLY IT TO THE
MOON AND PROVE OUT THIS
TECHNOLOGY, THAT WE CAN GO
INTO PITS OR PERMANENTLY
SHADOWED REGIONS OR LAVA TUBES
ON THE MOON.
>> WOW.
>> ONCE SHE'S IN THE LAVA
TUBES OR PITS, WHAT DO YOU
HAVE ON BOARD TO CONDUCT THE
SCIENCE ON THAT?
>> WE HAVE THREE PAYLOADS, A
CAMERA SYSTEM, THROUGH
PARTNERSHIP WITH GERMAN SPACE
AGENCY, WE ADDED A TEMPERATURE
SENSOR, A PIROMETER TO SENSE
THE TEMPERATURE IN A
PERMANENTLY SHADOWED REGION
AND WORKING WITH A HUNGARIAN
COMPANY CALLED PULI SPACE, WE
CAN TELL IF THERE IS WATER
INSIDE THE PSR.
>> YOU TALK ABOUT THE HOPPER
GOING IN THE LAVA TUBES, DOES
SHE HAVE TO HOP BACK OUT TO
TRANSMIT THE DATA?
>> WE BELIEVE SHE'S GOING TO
POP BACK OUT.
HOWEVER, PARTNERING WITH
NOKIA, WE PUT A NOKIA ANTENNA
ON TOP OF HOPPER, WE BELIEVE
THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO
COMMUNICATE OUTSIDE OF THAT
PSR WE'RE FLYING INTO BY
BOUNCING THE SIGNALS OFF OF
THE WALLS OF THE CRATER.
WE'LL FIND OUT.
THAT'S PART OF THE EXPERIMENT.
>> HOW FAR AWAY IS THE CRATER
AND HOW MANY HOPS?
>> FIVE HOPS.
ONE TO GET US OFF OF THE
LANDER AND SEVERAL DIFFERENT
HOPS TO PROVE WE CAN FLY
PARABOLICALLY, STEADY LEVEL
FLIGHT INTO THE PSR AND WAIT A
PERIOD OF TIME AND FLY BACK
OUT OF PSR, WE'LL BE 700
METERS AWAY FROM THE LANDER BY
THE TIME WE'RE FINISHED.
>> IT IS SO EXCITING HEARING
ABOUT THE COMPLEXITIES OF THE
LUNAR TECHNOLOGY GOING TO THE
MOON, AND TRENT, WE WISH GRACE
SAFE TRAVELS INTO THE HISTORY
BOOKS.
>> THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
>> THANK YOU.
LET'S HEAD BACK TO SpaceX IN
HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA WHERE
THEY ARE STANDING BY LIVE
RIGHT NOW.
>> THANKS, TAHIRA, EVERYTHING
IS GO FOR LAUNCH AS WE
COUNTDOWN TO LIFTOFF IN 26
MINUTES FROM NOW.
NOW NOT ONLY IS THE FALCON
FAMILY OF VEHICLES SUPPORTING
NASA'S LUNAR EFFORTS THROUGH
CLPS, BUT WE'RE WORKING
DIRECTLY WITH COMPANIES TO
SUPPORT A GROWING COMMERCIAL
INDUSTRY, THAT'S UNLOCKING
SPACE FOR BOTH COMMERCIAL AND
GOVERNMENT CUSTOMERS.
>> YEP, THAT'S ABSOLUTELY
RIGHT.
AND FOR MORE THAN A DECADE,
FALCON 9 SUPPORTED 45 MISSIONS
TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE
STATION WITH OUR DRAGON
SPACECRAFT, STARTING WITH OUR
FIRST CARGO RESUPPLY MISSION
AND RETURNING HUMAN
SPACEFLIGHT CAPABILITIES TO
THE U.S., AND EVEN HELPING
LAUNCH TWO ADDITIONAL CARGO
MISSIONS WITH NORTHRUP GRUMMAN
CIGNAS.
ALL OF THE MISSIONS HAVE
ENABLED SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
TO BE CONDUCTED ON THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.
>> YEP.
LOT OF WORK FROM LOW-EARTH
ORBIT.
SINCE 2022, SpaceX SUPPORTED
THE NEXT GENERATION OF
COMMERCIAL SPACE EXPLORATION.
WE'VE DONE THE LAUNCH OF THREE
PRIVATE ASTRONAUT MISSIONS TO
THE SPACE STATION IN
PARTNERSHIP WITH AXIOM SPACE.
IN THE NEAR FUTURE, AXIOM
PLANS TO ATTACH A MODULE TO
THE ISS.
THAT WILL EVENTUALLY DETACH
AND FORM AN INDEPENDENT
STATION.
ONE OF MANY COMMERCIAL SPACE
STATIONS THAT WILL COME ONLINE
SOON AS WELL AS AFTER THE
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
EXITS SERVICE AT THE END OF
ITS OPERATIONAL LIFE.
>> THAT'S RIGHT, JOHN, WHEN
READY, SpaceX WILL HELP
DEORBIT THE SPACE STATION,
NASA AWARDED SpaceX A CONTRACT
FOR THE USDV, A MODIFIED
DRAGON DESIGNED TO GUIDE THE
ISS THROUGH CONTROLLED
RE-ENTRY INTO EARTH'S
ATMOSPHERE.
THIS WILL BE A PIVOTAL MOMENT
IN SPACEFLIGHT HISTORY AS THE
SPACE STATION DEPARTS ORBIT
AND HANDS OFF THE BATON FOR
FUTURE PRIVATE MISSIONS LIKE
THOSE FROM AXIOM OR VAST
WORKING ON DEVELOPING SPACE
STATIONS THAT LAUNCH DIRECTLY
INTO ORBIT.
YOU CAN SEE THAT ON THE SCREEN
RIGHT NOW.
>> SpaceX'S DRIVE TO UNLOCK
SPACE DOES NOT END THERE.
IN 2021, SpaceX LAUNCHED
INSPIRATION 4 ON A THREE-DAY
JOURNEY AROUND THE EARTH.
IT WAS THE FIRST ALL-CIVILIAN
MISSION TO SPACE, AND MISSIONS
LIKE INSPIRATION 4 THAT YOU
CAN SEE HERE.
POLARIS DAWN AND THE UPCOMING
MISSION ALLOW COMMERCIAL
ASTRONAUTS TO CONDUCT RESEARCH
AND OTHER ACTIVITIES IN THE
MICROGRAVITY OF OUTER SPACE AS
WELL AS DEMONSTRATE NEW
TECHNOLOGIES WHILE ORBITING
THE EARTH.
NOW AS SOME OF YOU MAY RECALL,
LAST YEAR THE POLARIS DAWN
REACHED THE HIGHEST ALTITUDE
EVER IN EARTH ORBIT SINCE THE
APOLLO PROGRAM.
THEY PARTICIPATED IN THE FIRST
EVER EXTRAVEHICULAR ACTIVITY,
AN EVA WHERE THEY STOOD UP IN
DRAGON WEARING
SpaceX-DEVELOPED EVA SUITS AND
CONDUCTED 36 RESEARCH STUDIES
AND EXPERIMENTS DESIGNED TO
ADVANCE BOTH HUMAN HEALTH ON
EARTH AND DURING LONG-DURATION
SPACEFLIGHTS.
THERE'S A NICE VIEW OF THE TOP
OF DRAGON WHERE THEY CONDUCTED
THE MISSION IN THE EVA SUITS.
>> ALL OF THE MISSIONS
INCLUDING THE IM-2 MISSION ARE
SETTING THE STAGE FOR FUTURE
MISSIONS TO THE MOON, MARS AND
BEYOND AND, OF COURSE, SpaceX
CONTINUES TO LAUNCH NASA'S
PROGRAM WITH SPHERE X AND
LAUNCH SCHEDULED TO LAUNCH IN
A FEW DAYS.
BACK TO TODAY'S MISSION, LET'S
CHECK BACK IN WITH TAHIRA AND
JOSH.
>> WE ARE AT ABOUT T-MINUS 22
MINUTES FROM LIFTOFF TONIGHT.
JOSH, IF ALL GOES AS PLANNED,
THIS WOULD BE THE SECOND LUNAR
LANDING FOR INTUITIVE
MACHINES.
THAT HAS TO FEEL GOOD.
>> IT DOES, IT DOES.
JUST LAST YEAR, WE BECAME THE
FIRST COMMERCIAL COMPANY TO
LAND AND OPERATE ON THE
SURFACE OF THE MOON.
DESPITE HARDER THAN EXPECTED
LANDING CAUSED BY LASER
ALTIMETER MISHAP.
>> WHAT DID THE TEAM DO TO
ASSESS IM-1 AND MAKE
MODIFICATIONS FOR THE SECOND
MISSION WITH ATHENA?
>> AFTER IM-1 EVERY TEAM MET
AND REVIEWED EVERY MINUTE OF
THE MISSION.
WE HAVE TAKEN EXTRA STEPS TO
ENSURE ATHENA'S LASER
ALTIMETER IS ROCK 'N' ROLL
READY.
>> LET'S TALK ABOUT THE
LANDING SITE.
THE LANDING FOR IM-2 IS MONS
MOUTON, NAMED AFTER THE
AWARD-WINNING NASA
MATHEMATICIAN MELBA MOUTON WHO
CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESSFUL
APOLLO 11 LANDING.
MONS MOUTON IS ABOUT 100 MILES
FROM THE LUNAR SOUTH POLE
CLIMBING NEARLY 20,000 FEET
HIGH, ABOUT THE HEIGHT OF
MOUNT McKINLEY IN NORTH
AMERICA.
THIS IS ALSO ABOUT THE SIZE OF
DELAWARE STRETCHING 2700
SQUARE MILES AND WILL BE THE
SOUTHERN MOST LUNAR LANDING
EVER ATTEMPTED.
JOSH, CAN YOU BREAK DOWN WHAT
ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
THE IM-1 LANDING SITE FROM THE
FIRST LUNAR LANDING AND THE
IM-2 SITE FOR ATHENA TONIGHT?
>> BOTH OF THE SITES ARE LUNAR
HIGHLAND AREAS, SIMILAR WHEN
IT COMES TO.
THAT THE IM-2 SITE IS TWICE AS
CLOSE TO THE SOUTH POLE THAN
FIRST MISSION.
>> WHY WAS MONS MOUTON CHOSEN?
ANYTHING SPECIFIC THAT YOU
USED TO NARROW THIS DOWN FOR
IM-2?
>> A GREAT QUESTION.
I ASKED OUR SCIENTISTS, AS WE
MOVE CLOSER TO THE SOUTH POLE
COMBINING EARTH AND SUN
VISIBILITY BECOMES MORE
CHALLENGING.
WE CHOSE MONS MOUTON BECAUSE
THE SUN AND EARTH VISIBILITY
ENABLES A LONGER SURFACE
MISSION TO COMPLETE
OPERATIONAL GOALS, IT ALSO HAS
A CRATER CLOSE BY WE'RE
TARGETING FOR GRACE TO EXPLORE
CALLED CRATER H.
WE'LL HAVE TO THINK OF A
BETTER NAME FOR THE NEXT ROUND
OF EXPLORERS THAT DROP BY.
>> ABSOLUTELY, JOSH.
SO FUNNY.
AND THE EXPLORERS COULD BE
ARTEMIS ASTRONAUTS.
MONS MOUTON AREA IS ALSO ONE
OF THE POTENTIAL LANDING
LOCATIONS FOR THE ARTEMIS 3
MISSION, A REGION NO OTHER
CREWED MISSION HAS EVER LANDED
OR EXPLORED BEFORE.
HERE'S A CLOSER LOOK AT TYPE
OF PREPARATION THAT GOES INTO
RETURNING FROM THE LUNAR
SURFACE IN OUR ARTEMIS MOON
MINUTE.
>> HEY EVERYONE, I'M NASA
ASTRONAUT CHRISTINA COOK, CREW
MEMBER FOR THE ARTEMIS II
SESSION.
I'M HERE WHERE THE ORION
SPACECRAFT IS CLOSELY
MONITORED FOR MISSION CONTROL
DURING FLIGHT.
TEAMS ARE GEARING UP FOR
ANOTHER IMPORTANT EXERCISE OFF
THE COAST OF SAN DIEGO,
CALIFORNIA.
UNDERWAY RECOVERY TEST 12, OR
AS WE CALL IT URT12 IS THE
THIRD IN A SERIES OF TESTS TO
MAKE SURE TEAMS ARE PREPARED
TO SAFELY RECOVER MYSELF,
VICTOR GLOVER, JEREMY HANSON
AND THE ORION SPACECRAFT, A
MIX OF NASA AND STAND-IN
ASTRONAUTS WILL BE INSIDE AND
NAVY DIVERS WILL PRACTICE
GETTING THEM OUT OF THE
CAPSULE INTO HELICOPTERS,
WHICH WILL FLY THEM TO A
NEARBY NAVAL SHIP.
TEAMS SPEND THE WEEK RUNNING
THROUGH DIFFERENT SCENARIOS
INCLUDING A DAYTIME OR
NIGHTTIME SPLASHDOWN.
THAT'S YOUR ARTEMIS MOON
MINUTE.
>> FOR ALL ARTEMIS UPDATES AND
INFO ON THE ARTEMIS II
MISSION, SCAN THE QR CODE ON
THE SCREEN OR VISIT
NASA.GOV/MISSION/ARTEMIS/II.
LET'S GO BACK TO SpaceX IN
HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA.
>> THANKS, TAHIRA.
FALCON 9 IS THE FIRST ORBITAL
CLASS ROCKET FOR REFLIGHT AND
THIS WILL BE THE FIRST BOOSTER
SUPPORTING THE MISSION.
FALCON 9 AND FALCON HEAVY HAVE
COMPLETED 450 LAUNCHES AND 380
REFLIGHTS.
>> HARD TO KEEP FLIGHT OF THE
SCORECARD.
AND TODAY, THIS BOOSTER WILL
BE ATTEMPTING TO LAND ON OUR
DRONE SHIP A SHORTFALL OF
GRAVITAS.
THIS WOULD BE THE 100th
BOOSTER LANDING ON THAT DRONE
SHIP ALONE.
>> THAT'S PRETTY INCREDIBLE
AND RAPID REUSABILITY
DRAMATICALLY REDUCES LAUNCH
COSTS WHICH HELPS REDUCE
LAUNCH FREQUENCY AND AWIDE
ARRAY OF GOVERNMENT AND
COMMERCIAL SCIENTIFIC
OPPORTUNITIES IN SPACE LIKE
THIS ONE.
>> LOWERING THE COST OF ACCESS
TO SPACE IS HELPING TAKE
HUMANITY'S NEXT STEPS INTO THE
LOW-EARTH ORBIT SYSTEM, WHEN
THE COSTS ARE LOWER,
GOVERNMENT AND COMMERCIAL
CUSTOMERS CAN LAUNCH MORE
MISSIONS WHICH HELPS
ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT.
IT HELPS COMMERCIAL SATELLITE
AND PRIVATE RESEARCH CUSTOMERS
AFFORD TO LAUNCH MORE PROJECTS
TO SPACE AND THAT HELPS
STIMULATE INNOVATION HERE ON
EARTH.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
AND MISSIONS LIKE SpaceX'S
TRANSPORTER AND BANDWAGON RIDE
SHARE PROGRAMS MAKE ACCESS TO
SPACE MORE AFFORDABLE BY
SHARING THE COSTS OF A LAUNCH
ACROSS MANY CUSTOMERS.
>> ALL OF THIS IS TO SAY
REUSABILITY IS THAT KEY
INNOVATION THAT'S MAKING SPACE
ACCESSIBLE AS A WHOLE.
WE ARE RIGHT ON TIME BUT LET'S
TALK ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND
INNOVATION AND HEAD BACK TO
TAHIRA AND JOSH AT KENNEDY
SPACE CENTER.
>> THANKS, JOHN.
MANY OF THE TECHNOLOGY
DEMONSTRATIONS ON BOARD ATHENA
LIKE PRIME-1 AND THE GRACE
HOPPER WE HEARD ABOUT WERE
DRIVEN BY NASA'S SPACE
TECHNOLOGY MISSION
DIRECTORATE.
SOME ARE NASA-SUPPORTED
EXPERIMENTS DEVELOPED BY
PRIVATE COMPANIES.
WE ALSO CALL THESE TIPPING
POINT AWARDS.
THE INVESTMENTS ARE VALUABLE,
STIMULATING THE LUNAR ECONOMY
AS ACTIVITY INCREASES ON AND
AROUND THE MOON.
NOW TO TALK ABOUT THESE
PROGRAMS -- THESE PAYLOADS AND
AWARDS, JOINED BY THE DEPUTY
PROGRAM MANAGER FOR TECHNICAL
INTEGRATION OF NASA'S
GAME-CHANGING DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM.
MARK, WELCOME.
>> EXCITING NIGHT.
>> CAN YOU FIRST EXPLAIN WHAT
IS TIPPING POINT, AND WHAT
DOES IT MEAN TO NASA AND OUR
PARTNERS?
>> A TIPPING POINT PROJECT IS
A TRUE COLLABORATION AND
PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN NASA AND
INDUSTRY PARTNER.
SEEKING COMMERCIALLY-LED NEW
SPACE TECHNOLOGIES THAT SHOW
PROMISE FOR THE BENEFIT OF
COMMERCIAL MISSIONS AND FOR
NASA AND SO ESSENTIALLY BOTH
NASA AND THE COMMERCIAL
PARTNER HAVE IDENTIFIED A NEW
TECHNOLOGY THAT IS READY TO BE
MATURED AND TESTED AND INFUSED
IN THE COMMERCIAL MARKET, SO
NASA AND THE COMMERCIAL
PARTNER, THEY PUT IN MONEY,
PUT IN RESOURCES, EXPERTISE,
TEST FACILITIES, PUT THE PLAN
TOGETHER, MATURE THE
TECHNOLOGY, THEY TEST IT SO IN
THIS CASE, SEND IT TO THE
MOON, PROVE OUT THE TECHNOLOGY
AND INFUSE IT INTO THE
COMMERCIAL MARKET FOR A FUTURE
MISSION THAT THE COMMERCIAL
WORLD BENEFITS FROM AND NASA
BENEFITS FROM.
>> THERE ARE TWO TIPPING
POINTS, WE HEARD ABOUT ONE,
THE GRACE HOPPER.
CAN YOU EXPAND HOW THIS MIGHT
REVOLUTIONIZE SPACE
EXPLORATION?
>> YEAH, SO THE WORD
REVOLUTIONIZE IS PERFECT FOR
THIS MISSION.
IN THE PAST, ALMOST
EXCLUSIVELY PLANETARY
EXPLORATION HAS BEEN DONE WITH
WHEELED ROVERS.
THAT IS GREAT, INCREDIBLY
RELIABLE, THEY DO THE MISSIONS
WELL AND BENEFIT GREATLY FROM
THEM.
WE'VE GOTTEN TO THE POINT IN
THE SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS
PARTICULARLY ON THE MOON WHERE
WE NEED TO GET INTO THE HARD
TO REACH PLACES.
WE WANT TO GET TO THE BOTTOM
OF A CRATER, PERMANENTLY
SHADOWED REGIONS WHERE WE
BELIEVE THAT WATER, RESOURCES
AND OTHER VOLATILES ARE THERE
THAT WE CAN EXTRACT AND USE.
A WHEELED ROVER WOULD BE
IMPRACTICAL TO THINK THAT YOU
CAN GET DOWN THE STEEP SLOPES,
OVER THE CLIFF EDGES AND BACK
UP, RIGHT?
SO THE FACT THAT YOU HAVE
HOPPER THAT CAN COME UP, OVER,
SET DOWN NICELY, DO THE
SCIENCE AND SAFELY GET OUT OF
THERE REALLY CHANGES THE GAME
ON WHERE WE CAN GO AND DO
SCIENCE ON PLANETARY BODIES.
IT IS NOT ONLY APPLICABLE TO
THE MOON, IT REACHES TO MARS
AND BEYOND.
>> CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT
TIPPING POINT INITIATIVES WITH
NOKIA THAT HOPES TO DEPLOY THE
FIRST WIRELESS CELLULAR
NETWORK ON THE MOON.
>> THIS IS WHAT MAKES PEOPLE
LIGHT UP.
NOKIA HAS DONE A FANTASTIC JOB
OF TAKING THEIR TERRESTRIAL
TELECOM 4G NETWORKS THAT
CONNECT BILLIONS OF PEOPLE AND
DEVICES EVERY SINGLE DAY AND
PACKAGING IT FOR SPACE AND USE
IT ON FUTURE ARTEMIS MISSIONS
AND FUTURE HUMAN SUSTAINED
PRESENCE ON THE MOON AND MARS
AND BEYOND, AND SO TO GET A 4G
NETWORK AND GET THE HIGH-SPEED
DATA, VOICE AND DATA COMAND
HAVE THE INTERNET CONNECTING
YOUR DEVICES IS AN IMPORTANT
PART OF MEETING COMMUNICATION
REQUIREMENTS FOR HUMAN
MISSIONS.
SO THIS DEMONSTRATION IS GOING
TO TEACH THEM A LOT ABOUT WHAT
THEY NEED TO DO TO COLLECT
THAT DATA.
THE ENVIRONMENT IS OBVIOUSLY
VERY DIFFERENT.
YOU'RE IN A VACUUM
ENVIRONMENT, THE TEMPERATURES
ARE DIFFERENT.
THE WAY THE NETWORK RESPONDS
WILL BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT ON
THE MOON THAN HERE, SO THEY
NEED TO COLLECT THE DAT TO
OPTIMIZE THEIR SYSTEMS AND BE
READY TO DEPLOY ON A HUMAN
MISSION.
>> I THINK REVOLUTIONIZE WAS
THE RIGHT WORD FOR THE TWO
PAYLOADS.
THIS IS INCREDIBLE.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
>> JOSH, SO HOW IS THIS
INTEGRATED TO THE ATHENA
SPACECRAFT?
>> WELL, NOKIA'S NETWORK IN A
BOX IS MOUNTED HIGH ON
ATHENA'S CLOSEOUT PANELS AND
HAS TWO ANTENNAS ON ATHENA AND
CONNECTS BOTH OF THE VEHICLES
EXPLORING THE MOON'S SURFACE.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH, JOSH,
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH, MARK.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
WHEN THINGS GET BUSIER ON AND
AROUND THE MOON AND MARS,
ASTRONAUTS AND ROBOTS NEED A
WAY TO STAY IN TOUCH WITH
EITHER OTHER.
HERE'S A DEEPER LOOK HOW THE
NOKIA TIPPING POINT WILL
PROVIDE A COMMUNICATIONS
NETWORK TO HELP PREPARE US FOR
THAT FUTURE.
>> ON EARTH, A CELLULAR
NETWORK HAS MANY COMPONENTS.
BAY STATIONS.
RADIO UNITS.
A CORE NETWORK THAT MANAGES
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN USERS
AND THE NETWORK.
NOKIA'S TECHNOLOGY MINIATURIZE
AND SAID INTEGRATES ALL OF THE
COMPONENTS INTO A SINGLE
NETWORK IN A BOX.
>> THIS IS NOKIA LAB NETWORK
IN A BOX THAT YOU CAN HOLD IN
YOUR HANDS.
CONTAINS EVERY SINGLE
COMPONENT THAT MAKES UP A
4G/LTE NETWORK, WE CAN INSTALL
IT INTO THE INTUITIVE MACHINES
NOVA-C LANDER ALONG WITH
SPECIALLY DESIGNED ANTENNAS.
EVERY GRAM THAT WE SEND TO THE
MOON MATTERS.
WELCOME BACK.
THE SYSTEM HAS ENOUGH TO
RECOVER AND HEAL ITSELF.
WE OVERHAUL THE SYSTEM
SOFTWARE TO MINIMIZE THE
IMPACT OF IONIZING RADIATION
THAT WOULD CAUSE SENSITIVE
ELECTRONICS TO MALFUNCTION.
>> THE NETWORK LINKS DIRECTLY
TO DEVICES IN THE LUNAR
OUTPOST MAP ROVER AND MICRO
NOVA HOPPER.
FOR THE MISSION TO SUCCEED,
THIS NETWORK MUST BE FULLY
AUTONOMOUS.
IT MUST DEPLOY AND CONFIGURE
ITSELF ONCE ON THE LUNAR
SURFACE.
AS THE LUNAR ROVER GOES ABOUT
CONDUCTING EXPERIMENTS AND THE
HOPPER IS DEEP WITHIN A
CRATER, THE NETWORK MUST MAKE
ADJUSTMENTS TO MAINTAIN
CONNECTIVITY.
>> THERE WILL BE NO HUMAN
TECHNICIAN TO TWEAK OR REPAIR
THE NETWORK IF SOMETHING GOES
WRONG.
ACHIEVING THAT LEVEL OF
AUTONOMY WAS A MONUMENTAL TASK
TO UNDERTAKE.
NOKIA PLANS TO TEST THE FIRST
CELLULAR NETWORK ON THE MOON.
SUCCESS WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS
FAR BEYOND THIS IMPORTANT
MISSION.
>> WHILE NOKIA'S LUNAR NETWORK
TECHNOLOGY WILL BE THE FIRST
DEPLOYED ON IM-2 MISSION, IT'S
ALSO BEING ADAPTED FOR ARTEMIS
3.
>> THAT'S RIGHT.
THESE HIGH-SPEED CAPABILITIES
WILL BE INCORPORATED TO THE
AXIOM AXE SPACE SUITS ENABLING
CONNECTIVITY ON THE LUNAR
SURFACE.
YOU CAN THINK OF IT IS A CELL
PHONE NETWORK BUT ON THE MOON.
CLPS AND TIPPING POINTS ARE
HELPING ADVANCED HUMANITIES
REACH INTO THE SOLAR SYSTEM
AND SHAPE OUR COUNTRY'S
APPROACH TO EXPLORATION FOR
FUTURE PARTNERSHIPS.
>> THEY ARE TAKING THE MISSION
TO THE MOON UNDER THE
COMMERCIAL LUNAR PAYLOAD
SERVICES OR CLPS AS WE LIKE TO
CALL IT IN THE BUSINESS,
RIGHT?
>> EXACTLY JOSH.
AND UNDER CLPS, NASA ASKED
INTUITIVE MACHINES TO PROVIDE
LUNAR DELIVERY SERVICES THAT
ADVANCE CAPABILITIES FOR
SCIENCE, EXPLORATION AND
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE
MOON.
>> IT'S THROUGH CLPS AND NASA
SELECTED INTUITIVE MACHINES TO
DELIVER PRIME-1 DRILL SUITE
AND RETROARRAY TO THE MOON.
AND THE DYMON YAOKI ROVER AND
PULI SYSTEMS TO MAKE IT A
REALITY AND BY COLLABORATING
WITH NASA AND LEVERAGING CLPS
AS A SPRINGBOARD, WE DEVELOPED
SERVICES FOR DELIVERY, DATA
AND INFRASTRUCTURE THAT
COMMERCIALLY DEVELOP THE MOON
NOT JUST FOR US OR NASA BUT
FOR ALL.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
IT'S AN EXCITING TIME, JOSH.
TONIGHT IS ALSO THE THIRD CLPS
DELIVERY LAUNCHED ON A SpaceX
FALCON 9 ROCKET.
LET'S SEND IT BACK TO SpaceX
IN HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA AS
THEY WALK US THROUGH THE FINAL
MOMENTS OF THE COUNTDOWN.
WE WILL SEE YOU AFTER LAUNCH.
>> AS WE MENTIONED AT THE TOP
OF THE PROGRAM, FALCON 9 IS
ENABLING THE LAUNCHES TO THE
MOON INCLUDING THE IM-1, BLUE
GHOST AND RESILIENCE AND
TONIGHT'S IM-2 MISSION.
BEYOND THE PRIMARY PAYLOADS,
RIDE SHARES LIKE THE THREE
ADDITIONAL PAYLOADS YOU CAN
SEE -- YOU CAN'T SEE HERE BUT
IT'S BELOW THE LANDER, RIDE
SHARES WILL HELP TO BUILD THE
LUNAR ECONOMY.
ALL THE MISSION ARE SOMETHING
THAT YOU'RE GOING TO TALK
ABOUT.
>> THANKS.
YEAH, ALL OF THE MISSIONS ARE
DEVELOPING OUR FUTURE IN SPACE
AND HELPING TO SUPPORT
SUSTAINED HUMAN AND ROBOTIC
ACTIVITY INCLUDING SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH, RESOURCE EXTRACTION
AND INFRASTRUCTURE
DEVELOPMENT.
NOW, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO SEE
SOME OF TODAY'S RIDE SHARE
PAYLOADS ON THE STACK THERE
JUST BELOW THE ATHENA LANDER.
>> NASA'S LUNAR TRAILBLAZER IS
HITCHING A RIDE TODAY.
WE'LL LEARN MORE LATER IN THE
WEBCAST AS WELL AS ASTROFORGE,
AN ASTEROID MINING COMPANY
FLYING A SPACECRAFT HEADED
TOWARDS THE NEAR EARTHASTEROID
2022 OB-5.
AND EPIC AEROSPACES TRANSFER
VEHICLE, KNOWN AS A SPACE TUG,
A VEHICLE THAT WORKS IN SPACE
TO HELP PAYLOADS NOVDESIRED
ALTITUDES AND WE'LL LEARN MORE
ABOUT THESE IN JUST A BIT.
>> THESE SYSTEMS ARE PAVING
THE WAY FOR OUR SUSTAINED
PRESENCE BOTH IN SPACE AND ON
THE MOON AS WE DELIVER
LANDERS, CREWS, SATELLITES AND
ROVERS IN THE NEXT FEW YEAR,
BUILDING UP THE MOON'S
EQUIVALENT OF LOW-EARTH ORBIT
KNOWN AS LOWER LUNAR ORBIT,
THE STAGING POINT FOR FUTURE
MISSIONS, PROVIDING PLATFORMS
FOR SCIENCE AND RESEARCH.
>> AND IN THE NEAR FUTURE,
REUSABILITY WILL EXTEND ALL
THE WAY TO THE MOON WITH
REUSABLE LANDERS FLYING THEIR
FIRST MISSIONS.
FREQUENT, LOW COST WATCHES
FROM THE MOON WILL EVENTUALLY
ALLOW FOR METALES AND HELIUM 3
WHICH CAN HELP SUPPORT FUTURE
DEEP SPACE MISSION TO SXHARS
BEYOND.
WE'RE COMING UP AT T-MINUS 5
MINUTES, TURN OUR ATTENTION
FALCON 9 TO SPACECRAFT.
ALL SYSTEMS ARE A GO FOR
ON-TIME LIFTOFF.
WE HEARD THE CALLOFF, THE
TANKS ARE PRESSUREIZING, A
STRONG BACK RETRACK.
THE STRUCTURE YOU SEE ON THE
SCREEN RIGHT BEHIND THE FALCON
9.
YOU'RE LOOKING AT PAYLOAD
FERRING INSIDE WHICH ATHENA,
THE LUNAR LANDER AND THREE
RIDE SHARES ARE LOCATED.
WE'VE HAD THE TRANSITION TO
INTERNAL POWER FOR THE
SPACECRAFT, THAT HAPPENED
SEVERAL MINUTES AGO.
ALSO WE WERE TALKING, WE HEARD
SOME OF THE -- STRONGBACK
RETRACK AGAIN TO RUN.
WE HAVE FINISHED LOADING FUEL
ON THE FIRST STAGE.
WE ARE LOADING LIQUID OXYGEN
ON THE SECOND STAGE.
WE'RE ON TIME.
NOT WORKING SIGNIFICANT
ISSUES.
BUT WE'RE WAITING TO SEE RIGHT
NOW THE TWO CLAMP ARMS FROM
THE STRONGBACK BEGIN TO OPEN
UP.
WE SEE IT NOW.
TAKES ABOUT 16 SECONDS TO
RETRACT.
FOLLOWING THAT, WE WILL THEN
BEGIN TO DECLINE THE
STRONGBACK AWAY FROM THE
FALCON 9.
>> THE CLAMP ARMS ARE OPENING
AS WE SPEAK.
VEHICLE IS NEARLY FULLY LOADED
WITH PROPELLANT AND COMPLETE
AT THE T-MINUS 2 MINUTE MARK.
IT IS GREEN AND READY TO
SUPPORT THE LAUNCH, AND IF FOR
ANY REASON WE DO NOT LAUNCH
TODAY, WE HAVE A BACKUP
OPPORTUNITY TOMORROW AT 7:11
P.M. EASTERN TIME.
>> AT THIS POINT IN THE
COUNTDOWN, THE FIRST AND
SECOND STAGES ARE NEARLY FULLY
LOADED WITH ONE MILLION POUNDS
OF KEROSENE FUEL AND LIQUID
OXYGEN.
FALCON 9 USES REFINED FORM OF
KEROSENE CALLED RP1 OR ROCKET
PROPELLANT 1 AND LOX OR LIQUID
OXYGEN.
IT NEEDS HEAT, FUEL AND
OXIDIZING AGENT, IN THIS CASE,
OXYGEN.
THAT'S THE FIRING TRIANGLE.
THE LIQUID OXYGEN IS CHILLED
WELL BELOW BOILING POINT, THAT
MAKES IT DENSER AND WE CAN
LOAD MORE OF IT INTO THE
ROCKET.
>> YEP, AND THE THIRD PART OF
THAT FIRE TRIANGLE IS A
CHEMICAL KNOWN AS TRIETHEL
ALUMINUM AND TRIETHIL BORING.
THERE IS THE CALLOUT FOR STAGE
LOCK-LOAD COMPLETE AND MAKES
THE ROCKET GO AND THE MIXTURE
SETS THE MATCH TO THE
DEVELOPMENT.
>> IN ADDITION TO FINISH LOX
LOADING ON SECOND STAGE IN
ABOUT 30 MINUTES, ANOTHER
MAJOR EVENT AT T-MINUS 50
SECONDS THAT IS AUTONOMOUS
START-UP.
THEY WILL TAKE OVER THE
COUNTDOWN, LIGHT THE MERLIN 1,
THE ENGINES FOR LIFTOFF AND
COMING UP ON T-MINUS 2
MINUTES, THE INTUITIVE
MACHINES PAYLOAD IS HEALTHY
AND THE FALCON 9 TEAM IS
TRACKING NO ISSUES ON THE
ROCKET.
>> CURRENTLY THE WEATHER IS
GREEN AND READY TO SUPPORT A
T-0 AT 7:17 P.M.
>> WE HEARD THE CALLOUT, JUST
INSIDE T-MINUS 2 MINUTES.
YOU CAN HEAR IT IN THE
BACKGROUND, ENTHUSIASM,
EVERYBODY IS GETTING READY FOR
A LAUNCH TO THE MOON.
NEXT MAJOR EVENT COMING UP
RIGHT NOW.
>> GROUND GAS BLOWS OUT.
>> THAT MEANS THE STRONGBACK
INSIDE THE FALCON 9, DRAINING
PROPELLANT FROM THE GROUND
LINES, VENTING GAS OVERBOARD,
THAT WILL CREATE WHAT'S
TYPICALLY A LARGE WHITE PLUME
OFF THE STRONGBACK.
THE COLD OXYGEN MIXES WITH THE
WARM FLORIDA AIR AND YOU GET A
LARGE WHITE CLOUD, AND YOU CAN
SEE IT STREAMING AWAY.
WAITING FOR THE CALLOUT FOR
START-UP.
>> FALCON 9, START-UP.
>> YOU SEE AND HEAR IT, WE'RE
IN START-UP, EVERYTHING LOOKS
GOOD, WE GET THE GO FOR
LAUNCH, AND WITH THAT, LET'S
PAUSE FOR A MINUTE AND LISTEN
TO THAT GO.
.
>> GO FOR LAUNCH.
>> RIGHT ON TIME.
ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR THAT
CALLOUT.
T-MINUS 30 SECONDS AND
COUNTING.
ALL SYSTEM GO FOR LAUNCH WITH
INTUITIVE MACHINES LUNAR
PAYLOAD.
.
>> T-MINUS 15.
T-MINUS 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4,
3, 2, 1.
IGNITION AND LIFTOFF.
GO FALCON.
GO INTUITIVE MACHINES.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
.
>> FOLDS PITCHING DOWNRANGE.
.
>> FALCON 9 CARRYING IM-2'S
LUNAR LANDER ATHENA
SUCCESSFULLY OFF PAD 39A.
WE'RE HEADING TO THE MOON.
THAT'S A SMALL TILT OF THE
VEHICLE.
WE'RE STILL GOING STRAIGHT UP,
BUT NOW WE'RE ALSO SLOWLY
HEADING HORIZONTAL.
>> YOU HEARD THE CALLOUT FOR
NOMINAL AND ONCE WE REACH
ORBITAL ATTITUDE, GOING
HORIZONTAL TO THE EARTH, THE
ROCKET NEEDS TO GO 17,000
MILES.
>> SUPERSONIC.
>> HORIZONTALLY.
YOU HEARD THAT CALLOUT, WE ARE
SUPERSONIC AND IN JUST A FEW
MOMENTS, WE'LL PASS THROUGH
MAX QUEUE OR MAXIMUM
AERODYNAMIC PRESSURE.
>> MAX Q.
>> WE'RE THROUGH MAX Q AND THE
MERLIN 1B ENTRANCE IN FULL
POWER.
NEXT CALLOUT SHOULD BE M-VAC
CHILL.
CONTINUING TO LOOK GOOD AS THE
FIRST STAGED HADS OUT OVER THE
ATLANTIC OCEAN.
TRAJECTORY LOOKING GOOD ON
FALCON 9.
NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A FEW
EVENTS COMING UP IN QUICK
SUCCESSION, WE START WITH MAIN
ENGINE CUTOFF, THE POINT
DURING THE FLIGHT WHERE WE
SHUT DOWN THE MERLIN 1 AND
STAGE SEPARATION, AND SECOND
STAGE START NUMBER ONE.
>> AND SHORTLY AFTER MICO
STAGE ONE AND TWO WILL HEAD
DOWN TO EARTH WHILE THE SECOND
STAGE ENGINE STARTS FOR THE
FIRST TIME KNOWN AS SES-1, THE
SINGLE EARLY ENGINE WILL LIGHT
UP.
YOU'LL HEAR IT IN JUST A FEW
SECONDS.
>> STAGE SEPARATION CONFIRMED.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
>> M-VAC IGNITION.
>> CALLOUTS OF THREE GOOD
EVENTS, YOU HEARD IT AND
SHOULD HAVE SEEN IS T ON THE
LIVE CAST.
THE FIRST STAGE IS NOT
POWERED, IT SHUT DOWN, GREAT
VIEWS FROM THE SECOND STAGE
CAMERAS AS WE JUST HAD SUNSET
A LITTLE WHILE AGO AT KENNEDY
SPACE CENTER.
THE FIRST STAGE IS NOW
COASTING TO APOGEE.
THAT'S THE VIEW ON THE LEFT
SIDE.
WE'RE SLOWLY TURNING USING
COLD GAS THRUSTERS RETURNING
TO ORIENT THE ENGINES IN THE
DIRECTION OF FLIGHT.
ALSO YOU MAY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
MAKE OUT IN A LITTLE BIT OF
THE LIGHT THE TITANIUM GRID
FIN DEPLOYMENT IS UNDER WAY,
AND HERE COMES FERRING
SEPARATION.
[APPLAUSE]
>> AND A BEAUTIFUL VIEW!
LOOKING AT ATHENA AND THE RIDE
SHARES ON TOP OF THE SECOND
STAGE STACK.
SO IT HAD GOOD SEPARATION.
TRAJECTORY IS NOMINAL.
FIRST STAGE IS LOOKING GOOD AS
IT COMES TO APOGEE, SECOND
STAGE UNDER POWER, EVERYTHING
CONTINUING TO LOOK GOOD RIGHT
NOW ON THE MISSION.
>> YEAH, WE'RE JUST OVER
T-PLUS 4 MINUTES INTO TODAY'S
MISSION.
IM-2 IS SpaceX'S 24th LAUNCH
THIS YEAR AND WE'RE IN THE
FIRST OF TWO PLANNED M-VAC
BURNS AROUND THE T-PLUS 6
MINUTE MARK, YOU SHOULD SEE
THE FIRST STAGE'S ENTRY BURN
MAKING ITS WAY DOWN TO EARTH
AND FOR THE ENTRY BURN, IT
WILL BE THREE OF THE ENGINES
STARTING WITH THE CENTER
ENGINE FOLLOWED BY THE ENGINES
NEXT TO IT WHICH WILL SLOW
DOWN THE VEHICLE AS IT PASSES
BACK INTO THE EARTH'S
ATMOSPHERE.
WE NEED TO SLOW DOWN THE FIRST
STAGE TO REDUCE RE-ENTRY
FORCES WHICH WILL HELP US
RECOVER AND USE THE FIRST
STAGE, AND YOU CAN FOLLOW
ALONG ON THE SCREEN TO THE
BOTTOM LEFT AND RIGHT OF THE
SCREEN FOR STAGE 1 AND STAGE 2
SPEEDS AND ALTITUDES.
>> YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED ON THE
LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, FIRST
STAGE ALTITUDE HAS BEGUN
DROPPING.
WE REACHED APOGEE AND HEADING
BACK DOWN TO THE ATLANTIC
OCEAN.
WE'LL USE THE ENTRY BURN,
WE'RE FIRING THREE MERLIN
ENGINES TO DECELERATE FALCON 9
BUT STILL MOVING RAPIDLY, AND
THAT'S GOING TO CAUSE THE
VEHICLE TO FLY THROUGH THE
MERLIN EXHAUST GASES ON THE
ROCKET'S PLUME, THAT SOOT
COMES FROM THE CARBON BASED
FIELD THE FALCON 9 USES.
IT TOOK ALMOST TWO MINUTES
SINCE SEPARATION TO GET UP TO
APOGEE, GOING TO TAKE THE
ROCKET JUST AS LONG TO BRING
THE ROCKET BACK DOWN FOR THE
ENTRY BURN COMING UP IN JUST
ABOUT 20 SECONDS OR SO.
NOW AS A REMINDER, THE FIRST
STAGE SUPPORTING THE MISSION
IS PERFORMING ENTRY BURN FOR
THE NINTH TIME.
FALCON 9 IS THE FIRST ORBITAL
REUSABLE ROCKET.
THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT'S
THE REUSABILITY THAT ALLOWS
SpaceX TO FLY THE MOVE
EXPENSIVE PARTS OF THE ROCKET,
THAT DRIVES DOWN COST TO SPACE
ACCESS.
>> STAGE 1 IS SAVED.
>> THERE'S THE CALLOUT FOR
ENTRY BURN STARTOUT, A
30-SECOND BURN.
SLOWING THE FIRST STAGE DOWN
AS IT RE-ENTERS THE EARTH'S
ATMOSPHERE.
>> STAGE 1 ENTRY BURN
SHUTDOWN.
>> YOU CAN SEE THE END OF THE
ENTRY BURN ON THE FIRST STAGE,
AND ON THE RIGHT, YOU CAN SEE
THE SECOND STAGE STILL IN THE
FIRST OF TWO PLANNED BURNS
CARRYING THE INTUITIVE
MACHINES-2 PAYLOAD TO THE
MOON.
COMING UP NEXT, WE WILL SHUT
DOWN OUR M-VAC ENGINE ON THE
SECOND STAGE FOLLOWED QUICKLY
BY THE LANDING BURN ON THE
FIRST STAGE, THE SECOND ENGINE
CUTOFF OF THE FIRST BURN WILL
BE IN JUST ABOUT 30 SECONDS AT
THE T-PLUS 30 SECONDS AND 46
SECOND MARK.
>> STAGE 2 IS IN TERMINAL
GUIDANCE.
>> YOU CAN SEE ON YOUR BOTTOM
RIGHT, THE SPEED OF THE SECOND
STAGE ACCELERATING AS WE ARE
IN THAT PHASE.
>> STAGE 1 TRANS-SONIC.
>> STAGE 2FTS IS SAVED.
>> M-VAC SHUTDOWN, SHOULD BE
GETTING CONFIRMATION OF A GOOD
ORBIT -- THERE IS THAT STAGE 1
BURN, AND THAT CONFIRMATION OF
A GOOD ORBIT ON STAGE 2.
LET'S WATCH STAGE 1 COME BACK
HOME.
>> LAND AND LOAD DEPLOY.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
>> STAGE 1 CONFIRMED.
>> AWESOME VIEWS OF THAT FIRST
STAGE LANDING.
THERE YOU HAVE IT.
THAT WAS THE 413th RECOVERY OF
THE ORBITAL CLASS ROCKET
INCLUDING FIRST STAGE LANDINGS
FOR FALCON 9 AND HEAVY.
>> FIRST STAGE IS BACK ON THE
DRONE SHIP.
BEAUTIFUL MISSION.
SECOND STAGE IS IN THE PARKING
ORBIT, AND OUR LOW-EARTH
ORBIT.
THE MISSION DOES CONTINUE IN
SPACE WITH STAGE 2.
COMING UP NEXT, WE HAVE THE
SECOND BURN OF OUR M-VAC
ENGINE.
WE CALL THAT SDS2, THAT WILL
BE THE SECOND STAGE BURN
AROUND THE T-PLUS 36 1/2
MINUTE MARK AND FOLLOW THAT
WITH SPACECRAFT SEPARATION.
UNTIL THEN, WE SENT YOU BACK
TO TAHIRA AND JOSH AT KENNEDY
SPACE CENTER.
>> THANK YOU, JOHN AND YEO
MAE.
WELCOME TO THE SPACE COAST OF
FLORIDA, WHERE WE WITNESSED
THE BEAUTIFUL LIFTOFF OF THE
MOON BOUND INTUITIVE
MACHINES-2 NAMED ATHENA.
FROM LAUNCH PAD 39A AT KENNEDY
SPACE CENTER.
>> INTUITIVE MACHINES IS AN
AMERICAN COMPANY BASED IN
HOUSTON, TEXAS.
WE DEVELOPED AND BUILT A
COMPLETE SPACE PROGRAM AROUND
OUR LUNAR LANDER CARRYING
AMONG OTHER THINGS SEVERAL
MASSIVE PAYLOADS AND IF
EVERYTHING GOES AS PLANNED, IN
EIGHT DAYS, ATHENA IS EXPECTED
TO LAND AT MONS MOUTON REGION,
100 MILES FROM THE LUNAR SOUTH
POLE.
>> MAKE SURE YOU STAY WITH US
TONIGHT.
OUR BROADCAST ON NASA+ WILL
CONTINUE THROUGH ATHENA'S
ACQUISITION OF SIGNAL, WHICH
IS EXPECTED TO HAPPEN JUST
AFTER 8:00 P.M. EASTERN TIME.
JOSH, BESIDE ATHENA CALLING
HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME, ARE
THERE ANY OTHER BIG MILESTONES
THAT YOUR TEAM IS MONITORING
AND WAITING TO HAPPEN RIGHT
NOW?
>> IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER,
ATHENA MAKING THE FIRST CALL
HOME ISN'T AN EASY FEAT,
GETTING INTO MAX POWER
ATTITUDE.
THAT'S ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS
FLIGHT CONTROLLERS CONFIRM
AFTER WE HEAR FROM ATHENA FOR
THE FIRST TIME.
CHECKING THAT, TOP DECK SOLAR
ARRAY IS LOCKED IN POINTING
RIGHT AT SUN, AND TO HEAR ONE
OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THE
MISSION IS WHILE ATHENA IS
EXPECTED TO CALL BACK TO
MISSION CONTROL THERE'S MORE
ACTION, ADDITIONAL PAYLOAD
DEPLOYMENTS FROM THE SECOND
ROCKET STAGE.
>> I AM SUPER EXCITED ABOUT
THAT.
I DON'T THINK I'VE SEEN
MULTIPLE RIDE SHARE PAYLOADS
RELEASE.
THEY ARE CALLED RIDE SHARES.
WHILE THEY AREN'T HITCHING A
RIDE, THEY ARE ON THE SAME
ROCKET.
THEY HAVE THREE OF THEM,
INCLUDING THE TRAILBLAZER, IT
IS THE ONLY NASA SCIENCE
INVESTIGATION ON THIS MISSION
THAT WILL NOT LAND ON THE
MOON.
ONCE IT DEPLOYS IT WILL ORBIT
ABOUT 60 MILES FROM THE
SURFACE TO HELP SCIENTISTS
BETTER UNDERSTAND THE LUNAR
WATER CYCLE.
IT WILL ALSO INFORM FUTURE
HUMAN MISSIONS AS TO WHERE
SUPPLIES OF WATER MAY BE FOUND
AND EXTRACTED AS A RESOURCE.
THE MISSION IS MANAGED BY JPL
AND MISSIONS ARE LED OUT OF
CALTECH UNIVERSITY.
WE'RE JOINED BY DR. RACHEL
KLIMA, LUNAR TRAILBLAZER
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR.
WHAT A LAUNCH TONIGHT.
>> OH, MY GOSH.
>> WERE YOU ABLE TO WITNESS
IT?
>> YES, I WAS.
MY MIND IS BLOWN, NOT JUST
BECAUSE THE LAUNCH IS SO
BEAUTIFUL, BUT TO HAVE WORKED
ON SOMETHING FOR SO LONG AND
SEE IT GO -- LIKE I DON'T KNOW
HOW THIS IS MY LIFE.
>> CONGRATULATIONS.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE GOAL
OF THE LUNAR TRAILBLAZER
MISSION?
>> SURE.
SO LUNAR TRAILBLAZER, WE
PROPOSED IT IN 2018 TO FOLLOW
UP ON THE OBSERVATIONS MADE
ALMOST ABOUT A DECADE BEFORE
THAT OF WATER ON THE SURFACE
OF THE MOON, ACROSS THE ENTIRE
SURFACE OF THE MOON.
WE'RE GOING BACK TO
ENFORCEMENT STUDY, THE
ABUNDANCE THE DISTRIBUTION OF
THE WATER AND TO UNDERSTAND IF
WATER MIGRATES ACROSS THE
LUNAR SURFACE TO LEARN ABOUT
THE WATER CYCLE.
>> TELL US ABOUT THE
INSTRUMENTS ON BOARD TO HELP
YOU ACHIEVE THE MISSION?
>> WE HAVE TWO STATE OF THE
ART INSTRUMENTS.
ONE CALLED THE HIGH-RESOLUTION
VOLATILE MINERAL MAPPING --
MINERAL MOON MAPPER.
I'M A LITTLE EXCITED, AND THAT
STUDIES THE NEAR INFRARED
REFLECTED LIGHT FROM THE SUN.
THE SUN SHINES THE LIGHT TO
THE LUNAR SURFACE AND THE
LIGHT REFLECTED BACK OFF
CARRIES WITH IT LIKE A
SPECTRAL FINGERPRINT OF WHERE
WATER AND MINERALS ARE ON THE
LUNAR SURFACE.
WE'LL BE MEASURING THOUGH, AND
RIDING ALONG WITH THAT IS THE
LUNAR THERMAL MAPPER OUT OF
OXFORD UNIVERSITY IN THE
UNITED KINGDOM.
IT'S AN INTERNATIONAL
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE U.K., AND
THEY'RE MEASURING THE
TEMPERATURE OF THE LUNAR
SURFACE AT THE SAME TIME THAT
WE'RE MEASURING THE SPECT RAL
SIGNATURE AND UNDERSTANDING
WHERE THE WATER IS.
>> RACHEL, YOU CAN TELL US THE
WORK THAT LUNAR TRAILBLAZER IS
INTENDING TO DO, LAY THE
GROUNDWORK FOR WHAT WE WANT TO
DO WITH OUR ARTEMIS?
>> WE HAVE HINTS OF WATER ON
THE LUNAR SURFACE IN THE
PERMANENTLY SHADOW THE REGIONS
ON THE MOON AND THE LUNAR
SURFACE, IF WE WANT TO GO
THERE WITH ARTEMIS, IF WE WANT
TO LIVE OFF THE LAND, USE THE
WATER THAT'S THERE, WE NEED TO
UNDERSTAND WHERE IT IS, HOW
MUCH WATER IS THERE, SO LUNAR
TRAILBLAZER WILL BE ABLE TO
MAP WHETHER THERE'S ICE IN THE
PERMANENTLY SHADOWED REGIONS
AND THAT THING TO.
PICK LANDING SITES AND SEE
WHERE WE WANT TO BE.
>> WHAT AN EXCITING FUTURE.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US,
RACHEL.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
>> JOSH, I UNDERSTAND THERE
ARE A FEW OTHER COMMERCIAL
RIDE SHARE PAYLOADS THAT LUNAR
TRAILBLAZER WILL DEPLOY FROM
THE ROCKET AFTER ATHENA?
>> ATHENA SEPARATES AND THE
THREE RIDE SHARE PAYLOADS
DEPLOY.
THIS HAS CONDENSED TIME LINE,
WE EXPECT THE PAYLOADS TO
SEPARATE ABOUT FIVE MINUTES
AFTER ATHENA.
>> EVEN THE ANIMATION, THIS IS
GORGEOUS, THIS IS GOING TO BE
A SPECTACULAR VIEW.
SO CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH,
WHAT EXACTLY IS DEPLOYING
HERE?
>> WHAT YOU'RE WATCHING ALL OF
THE RIDE SHARE DEPLOYMENTS,
ASTROFORGE USING THE MISSION
TO TARGET ASTEROID, THAT IS
OUT OF THIS WORLD, AND
DEPLOYMENT OF EPIC AEROSPACE'S
PAYLOAD CALLED CHIMERA
INTENDED TO DEPLOY MULTIPLE
PAYLOADS AFTER SEPARATION.
>> IS THERE A SPECIAL REASON
THE RIDE SHARES JOINED LUNAR
CLPS RIDE SHARE MISSIONS?
>> TAKES TRAJECTORY TO THE
MOON, A TRANSLUNAR ORBIT, LIKE
THROWING A FASTBALL AT THE
MOON.
IT ALLOWS ATHENA TO GET THERE
IN EIGHT DAYS BUT FOR RIDE
SHARES, AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET
PLACES LIKE THE MOON OR DEEP
SPACE ASTEROID LIKE
ASTROFORGE, AN OPPORTUNITY TO
SEND OUR FUTURE LUNAR DATA
RELAY SATELLITES STARTING WITH
IM-3, WHICH IS CARRYING OUR
CLPS PAYLOADS FROM NASA.
>> THAT'S RIGHT, AND IM-3 WILL
BE INTUITIVE MACHINES THIRD
DELIVERY LUNAR MISSION AS PART
OF CLPS WHERE NASA AND
AMERICAN COMPANIES HAVE TEAMED
UP TO EXPLORE THE MOON.
NOW A LOT OF RESEARCH NEEDS TO
HAPPEN BEFORE HUMANITY CAN
LIVE AND WORK ON THE LUNAR
SURFACE, AND THE CLPS MISSIONS
ARE LIKE STEPPING STONES
TOWARDS CREATING THE
SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.
IN THE END, THE REWARDS
OUTWEIGH THE RISKS.
>> LANDING ON THE MOON IS
HARD.
WE'RE GOING BACK.
UNDER THIS ARTEMIS PROGRAM,
WE'RE SENDING HUMANS TO THE
MOON FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE
APOLLO.
SO AHEAD OF HUMANS, WE WANT TO
GET UP AS MUCH SCIENCE,
EXPLORATION AND TECHNOLOGY
EXPERIMENTS AS POSSIBLE.
>> SO CLPS STARTS FACILITATING
THE EARLY SCIENCE, THE THINGS
WE LEARN BEFORE WE SEND
HUMANS.
CLPS STANDS FOR COMMERCIAL
LUNAR PAYLOAD SERVICES, CLPS.
>> WHEN NASA DELIVERS A
PAYLOAD TO THE SURFACE OF THE
MOON, THEY DO IT WITH
COMMERCIAL PARTNER BUT NASA
CONTROLS THE BUILDING OF THE
VEHICLE.
NOW THE SERVICE AND DELIVERY
OF LUNAR PAYLOADS TO THE MOON.
>> IT IS A DELIVERY SERVICE
AKIN TO A DELIVERY SERVICE
HERE ON EARTH.
>> Reporter: NASA WILL PROVIDE
PAYLOADS TO A COMMERCIAL
COMPANY.
THEY DECIDE HOW GET IT TO THE
MOON.
THEY DECIDE THE END TO END
MISSION.
>> AFFORDABLE, RAPID, FREQUENT
ACCESS TO LUNAR SURFACE
THROUGH AMERICAN COMPANIES.
>> WE'RE FUNDING DIFFERENT
COMPANIES.
>> WE HAVE COMMERCIAL
COMPANIES COMPETING TO WIN
TASK ORDERS TO DELIVER
PAYLOADS TO THE SURFACE OF THE
MOON.
>> ONE OF THE GOALS WHEN WE
STARTED CLPS IS TO ESTABLISH A
LUNAR ECONOMY.
>> SOMEBODY HAS TO DO IT
FIRST, BECOMES COMMERCIALLY
AVAILABLE AND ABLE TO CRANK
THEM UP AND MAKE THEM MORE
AFFORDABLE.
THE LUNAR SURFACE IS THE NEXT
FRONTIER FOR COMMERCIAL
ENVIRONMENT.
>> THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF THE
LEADERSHIP THAT SOME OF THEM
WILL FAIL.
THE MISSIONS MAY NOT BE AS
SUCCESSFUL AS TRADITIONAL NASA
MISSION.
>> WE HAVE TO ACCEPT THE RISK
THAT GOING THROUGH THE
INNOVATIVE APPROACH WITH THE
COMPANIES THAT THERE COULD BE
FAILURES.
SOME OF THEM ARE NEW
COMPANIES.
NONE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY LANDED
ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON SO
THEY'RE GOING TO LEARN
LESSONS.
>> WE GIVE VENDORS --
>> THAT WILL HELP BUY DOWN OUR
RISK AS THE COMPANIES LEARN
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BUILD UP
THE LUNAR LANDER, INTEGRATE
PAYLOADS, GET TO THE LUNAR
SURFACE AND LAND SAFELY?
>> THEY HAVE VERY, VERY GOOD
TECHNICAL DATA, WE'RE WILLING
TO TAKE MORE SHOTS ON GOAL.
WE'RE NOT RISKING HUMAN LIFE,
AND IF WE'RE FLYING MISSIONS
ONE TENTH THE COST OF A NASA
MISSION AND FAIL TWO OF THEM,
WE GET EIGHT MISSIONS FOR THE
SAME PRICE.
>> WITH ONE OR TWO FAILURES,
THIS IS AN ECONOMIC MISSION.
IT IS MORE RISK TOLERANT THAN
NASA IS ACCUSTOMED TO.
EVERY ONE OF THESE IS DOING
WHAT THEY CAN TO HAVE A MOST
SUCCESSFUL MISSION POSSIBLE,
BUT THE IMPORTANT THING TO
REALIZE IS RISK TOLERANT DOES
NOT MEAN RISKY AND THE REWARDS
ARE LONG-TERM ABILITY TO GET
PAYLOADS TO THE MOON
INEXPENSIVELY FREQUENTLY AND
RAPIDLY.
>> WE WANT SCIENCE TO PUT OUR
RESOURCES ON EVEN MORE
SCIENCE, EXPLORATION AND
TECHNOLOGY PAYLOADS AND GET
MORE RETURN ON INVESTMENT WHEN
WE GET TO THE MOON.
>> CLPS PROVIDES TREMENDOUS
BENEFIT ACROSS THE SCIENTIFIC
AND ECONOMIC COMMUNITIES.
>> THERE'S A LOT TO LEARN
ABOUT HUMAN HABITATION AND
PREPARE US FOR MISSIONS TO THE
MOON, MARS AND BEYOND.
>> THE MOON IS THE FIRST STEP.
>> JOINING ME ARE DR. NICKY
FOX AND DR. JOEL KEARNS, THE
DEPUTY ASSOCIATED
ADMINISTRATOR FOR EXPLORATION.
NICKY, JOEL, WHAT A LAUNCH
TONIGHT.
>> IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
>> DOES IT EVER GET OLD?
>> NO.
NEVER, NEVER.
NO.
>> PARTICULARLY WHEN NASA
SCIENCE IS GOING TO THE MOON
ON IT.
>> I KNOW, RIGHT?
MORE THAN JUST A LAUNCH.
THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE.
TO TALK ABOUT THE FUTURE,
NICKY, YOU ARE PASSIONATE HOW
SCIENCE CAN ENABLE
EXPLORATION.
YOU CAN TALK ABOUT HOW THE
SCIENCE AND INVESTIGATIONS
GOING UP TONIGHT ENABLE
HUMANITY HAVING THIS LONG-TERM
PRESENCE AT THE MOON?
>> YEAH, I MEAN OBVIOUSLY
SCIENCE ENABLES EXPLORATION
BUT EXPLORATION ENABLES
SKIEBS.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT
THE PARTNERSHIP.
NASA SCIENCE DOES GREAT
SCIENCE IN THE UNIVERSE FROM
THE CENTER OF THE SUN TO THE
EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE, WE'RE
DOING FANTASTIC SCIENCE.
THE COOL THING IS REALLY
ENABLING HUMANITY TO TAKE NEXT
STEPS.
AS WE RETURN TO THE MOON,
WE'RE NOT JUST RETURNING TO
THE MOON FOR A SHORT TRIP.
WE'RE RETURNING TO STAY, AND
THE MOON LIGHTS OUR WAY TO
MARS, SO ALL OF THE
EXPERIMENTS WE HAVE THAT WE'RE
PUTTING ON CLPS ARE JUST THERE
TO ENABLE US TO DO THE NEXT
GREAT THINGS FOR HUMANITY.
>> SO, JOEL, AS PART OF CLPS,
IT IS REALLY TO TEAM UP WITH
AMERICAN COMPANIES TO HELP
ADVANCE THE CAPABILITIES OF
THE COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF
THE MOON.
YOU CAN EXPLAIN HOW THE CLPS
INITIATIVE AND THE FLIGHTS ARE
ADVANCING WHAT WE WANT TO DO
WITH ARTEMIS?
>> EVERY ONE OF THE CLPS
FLIGHTS LIKE THE IM-2 MISSION
IS ADVANCING BOTH SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY THAT WE WILL NEED
TO MOVE HUMANS OUT FURTHER
INTO THE SOLAR SYSTEM BUT
ANSWER REALLY LONG-TERM
SCIENTIFIC QUESTIONS,
QUESTIONS WE'VE HAD FOR
DECADES, SINCE APOLLO, AND
WE'RE DOING THIS A VERY
DIFFERENT WAY THAN APOLLO.
IN APOLLO, A NATIONAL EFFORT
THAT WAS DONE BY NASA WITH
MAJOR INDUSTRY AT THE TIME.
HERE WE'RE PARTNERING WITH
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS BUT
ALSO AS YOU SAID, WITH
COMMERCIAL FIRMS IN THE U.S.,
AND THE WAY WE IMPLEMENT CLPS
TO CARRY OUT SCIENCE AND
TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES, WE GET
AS A SERVICE FROM U.S.
INDUSTRY THE ABILITY TO BRING
THINGS TO THE MOON AND GET
DATA BACK.
THIS NOT ONLY ALLOWS US TO DO
THIS FASTER AND LESS
EXPENSIVELY BUT BUILDS
CAPABILITY AND INDUSTRY TO
TAKE THINGS TO THE MOON, NOT
JUST FOR NASA BUT ALL ARTEMIS
ACCORD SIGNATORIES AND ALLIES
AROUND THE WORLD IT.
STARTS WITH ROBOTIC LANDERS,
GOES TO ORBITERS AND OTHER
SMALL SPACECRAFT, AND WE'RE
DOING PUBLIC-PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE BIG HUMAN
LANDERS AND THE SPACE SUITS.
IT'S THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE
FOR THE MOON AND MARS.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
VERY QUICKLY, THIS IS A HARD
QUESTION, WHAT ARE YOU BOTH
LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST IN
THIS NEW ERA OF LUNAR
EXPLANATION, JOEL?
>> WE'RE GOING TO GO TO PLACES
ON THE MOON TO GET READY FOR
MARS AND TO ANSWER QUESTIONS
ABOUT THE MOON THAT NO ONE HAS
VISITED BEFORE, SO FOR
EXAMPLE, IM-2, ON THIS MISSION
WILL GO THE FURTHEST CLOSEST
TO THE SOUTH POLE THAN ANYONE
HAS BEEN, AND WE KNOW WE WANT
TO SEND ARTEMIS ASTRONAUTS TO
THE SOUTH POLE.
WE WILL GET INFORMATION WHAT
IS THE SOUTH POLE REALLY LIKE
AS WE ANSWER THE SCIENTIFIC
QUESTIONS.
>> NICKY?
>> ALL OF THE NASA MISSIONS
ARE INTERCONNECTED.
PRETTY IS EXCITING THING IS
NOT ONLY MACHINES GOVERNORING
TO LAND BUT LUNAR TRAILBLAZER
LOOKING FOR VOLATILES, REALLY
FANTASTIC, NASA SCIENCE DOING
AMAZING THINGS ALL THROUGH OUR
UNIVERSE FROM JUST EVERYWHERE
WE GO, INCREDIBLE, INCREDIBLE
SCIENCE.
SO REALLY EXCITED TO CONTINUE
TO INSPIRE THE WORLD AND LEAD
THE NATION IN SCIENCE
EXPLORATION.
>> ABSOLUTELY.
THANK YOU, BOTH SO MUCH FOR
JOINING US.
>> THANK YOU.
>> AS PART OF CLPS, INTUITIVE
MACHINES IS CONTINUING TO ADD
COMMERCIAL LUNAR SERVICES.
IT ENABLES DELIVERY, DATA
TRANSMISSION AND
INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THE
ARTEMIS CAMPAIGN AND THE
COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE
MOON.
>> 2024 REDEFINED INTUITIVE
MACHINES, BECOMING THE FIRST
COMMERCIAL COMPANY TO LAND AND
OPERATE ON THE SURFACE OF THE
MOON.
>> HOUSTON, THEY ARE HOME.
>> Reporter: AND DATA
TRANSMISSION AND
INFRASTRUCTURE.
>> WHEN WE JUMPED OFF ON THE
CLPS INITIATIVE AND PIVOTED
THE COMPANY TOWARDS THE MOON,
IT PUSHED THE BOUNDARIES WHAT
COULD BE POSSIBLE.
WE THOUGHT UNCONVENTIONALLY.
>> LAST FALL WE CONTINUED
DEVELOPMENT OF THE LUNAR
TERRAIN VEHICLE WITH NASA
ASTRONAUT TESTING AT JOHNSON
SPACE CENTER, ALONG WITH A
METEOR CRATER TRIAL RUN IN
WINSLOW, ARIZONA TO SUPPORT
MOON RACER AND OTHER HEAVY
CARGO, THE COMPANY COMPLETED
SEVERAL MILESTONES IN
DELIVERING CARGO LANDER THE
NOVA-D.
>> WHAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO IS
PROVIDE A LOGISTIC SUPPLY
CAMPAIGN TO THE MOON.
>> WHILE 2025 STARTS WITH
ANOTHER LUNAR LIFTOFF,
DEVELOPMENT.
FIRST DATA RELAY CONSTELLATION
CAPABLE OF 4K VIDEO
TRANSMISSION IS UNDER WAY TO
SUPPORT ARTEMIS MISSIONS TO
THE MOON.
>> WE PLAN ON DEPLOYING DATA
RELAY SATELLITES AND
CAPABILITY FOR ARTEMIS AND
ALLOW FOR MORE ROBUST
COMMUNICATION FOR THE SURFACE.
>> EACH MISSION IS BUILDING
THE FOUNDATION FOR SUSTAINABLE
PRESENCE ON THE MOON AND A
FOOT HOLD TOWARD THE NEXT STEP
INTO THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
>>> WE'RE GOING TO STEP ASIDE
WHILE WE WAIT OUR NEXT
MILESTONES, THE SECOND BURN OF
THE SECOND STAGE OF THE FALCON
9 LANDER AND SEPARATION OF THE
PAYLOADS.
WE'LL SEE YOU THEN.
♪
♪.
>> WELCOME TO KENNEDY SPACE
CENTER, WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY
AWAITING THE SECOND BURN OF
THE FALCON 9 SECOND STAGE AND
SEPARATION OF INTUITIVE
MACHINES LUNAR LANDER, AFTER A
SUCCESSFUL LIFTOFF OF THE
FALCON 9 ROCKET WITH THE
INTUITIVE MACHINES LUNAR
LANDER NAMED ATHENA AT 7:16:30
TONIGHT.
>> INTUITIVE MACHINES EXPECTS
ATHENA TO DELIVER CARGO TO
MONS MOUTON REGION OF THE
MOON, THE SOUTHERN MOST LUNAR
ATTEMPT IN AMERICAN HISTORY,
BUT THE LUNAR HAS TO SEPARATE
FROM THE LAUNCH VEHICLE SECOND
STAGE.
>> LET'S GO BACK LIVE TO
SpaceX IN HAWTHORNE,
CALIFORNIA WHERE THEY ARE
STAND BUYING TO AWAIT THE
SECOND BURN AND SPACECRAFT
SEPARATION.
JOHN?
YEO MAE?
>> THANKS, TAHIRA, WE ARE A
COUPLE SECONDS AWAY FROM M-VAC
ENGINE AND THE SECOND BURN
WILL LAST JUST OVER 60 SECONDS
AND YOU CAN WATCH THE VELOCITY
INCREASE ON THE DISPLAY ON
YOUR SCREEN.
>> RIGHT THERE, WE SAW A
LITTLE SOLID OXYGEN DRIFTING
OFF.
WE'RE PURGING EVERYTHING,
GETTING THE ENGINE READY TO
RELIGHT, CHILLING IT IN, SAME
TIME USING A LITTLE COLD GAS
THRUSTER TO PUSH ALL THE
PROPELLANT DOWN TO THE BOTTOM
OF THE TANK, RIGHT OVER THE
INLET OF THE TURBO PUMP.
SO WE'RE READY TO PULL IT IN
WHEN WE SPIN THE ENGINE FROM
BURN NUMBER TWO.
>> WE USE NITROGEN TO PERFORM
THE MANEUVERS.
>> YES.
WE CAN'T SEE THE THRUSTERS
THAT JOHN MENTIONED, THEY'RE
ON THE RIGHT ON THE MAIN
SECOND STAGE, AND WE HAVE THE
M-VAC ENGINE VIEW HERE, YOU
CAN SEE THE ENGINE CHILL
PROCESS HAPPENING.
YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE PAYLOADS
ON THE LEFT-HAND SIDE OF THE
SCREEN.
>> THERE'S A NICE VIEW.
WE'VE GOT A SECOND PAYLOAD
CAMERA ON THE FLIGHT, AND
LOOKING RIGHT UP AT THE
BUSINESS END OF ATHENA WITH
THE LARGE NOZZLE.
>> REALLY COOL VIEWS.
I LOVE HOW ATHENA LOOKS LIKE A
STAR WHEN IT FLOATS AWAY.
AGAIN, WE'RE COMING UP ON THE
SECOND ENGINE START-UP 2 IN
JUST A FEW SECONDS HERE.
THIS WILL BE ABOUT A 60-SECOND
BURN.
>> AND IGNITION.
>> THAT'S THE CALLOUT FOR
M-VAC IGNITION.
ALWAYS COOL TO SEE THE M-VAC
NOZZLE START GLOWING IN THE
MIDDLE OF THE BURN.
WE'RE ABOUT 30 SECONDS INTO
OUR 60-SECOND PLANNED BURN ON
THE SECOND STAGE CARRYING
ATHENA AND THE RIDESHARE
PAYLOADS TO THE MOON.
>> M-VAC SHUTDOWN.
>> THERE IS THE CALLOUT OF THE
M-VAC SHUTDOWN.
COMPLETED THE SECOND BURN OF
THE SECOND STAGE, JUST WAITING
ON CONFIRMATION -- THERE IS
THE CONFIRMATION FOR A GOOD
ORBIT, AND IT LOOKS LIKE WE
ARE ON TRACK FOR SPACECRAFT
SEPARATION IN JUST A FEW
MINUTES.
>> IT'S BEEN A GREAT LAUNCH SO
FAR.
COMING UP 38 MINUTES SINCE WE
HAD LIFTOFF AND WAITING FOR
THE IM-2 LANDER TO SEPARATE
FROM FALCON 9 SECOND STAGE.
A LITTLE RECAP WHILE WE'RE
WAITING FOR THAT IN A LITTLE
UNDER SIX MINUTES FROM NOW.
WE HAVE AN ON-TIME LIFTOFF
SHORTLY BEFORE 7:16 EASTERN
STANDARD TIME FROM LAUNCH
COMPLEX 39A AT KENNEDY SPACE
CENTER.
EVERYTHING HAS PROCEEDED
NOMINALLY 2 1/2 MINUTES INTO
FLIGHT, GOT STAGE SEPARATION.
WE SAW THE SUCCESSFUL LANDING
OF FALCON 9'S FIRST STAGE A
SHORTFALL OF GRAVITAS AND MADE
THE LINETH LANDING FOR THE
FIRST STAKE.
T-PLUS 47 MINUTES WE HAD
SUCCESSFUL STAGE SECA1 AND
GOOD PARKING ORBIT INSERTION.
THAT WAS THE FIRST OF THE TWO
STAGES OF THE SECOND BURN
ENGINE AND WE ALSO ARE IN A
GOOD TRANSFER ORBIT RIGHT NOW.
PAY ATTENTION ON THE BOTTOM
RIGHT TO THE ALTIMETER, WE
DIDN'T CHANGE MUCH AT BURN,
NOW THE VEHICLE IS COASTING AT
THIS POINT IN TIME.
PAYLOADS ARE STILL ATTACHED AS
WE'RE COUNTING DOWN TOWARDS
THE SEPARATION OF THE ATHENA
LANDER.
CURRENTLY THE SECOND STAGE IS
IN A COAST PHASE, AS I
MENTIONED.
WE'RE ESSENTIALLY MAKING SURE
EVERYTHING IS QUIESCENT ON THE
STAGE.
WE'RE VENTING DOWN PRESSURES.
WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT
OVERBOARD VENTS ARE DONE SO
NOTHING FOR EXAMPLE BURPS
DURING FLIGHT.
WE WANT ATHENA, WHEN WE SEND
THE SEPARATION COMMAND TO MOVE
AWAY AND NOT HAVE JOSTLING IF
SECOND STAGE INADVERTENTLY
VENTS AT THAT TIME.
COMING UP, UNDER FOUR MINUTES
TO SEPARATION, AND WE'RE
GETTING GREAT VIEWS OF THE
SECOND STAGE AS IT PREPARES TO
SEPARATE THE IM-2 LANDER TO
BEGIN EIGHT-DAY JOURNEY TO THE
MOON.
AND OF COURSE, GIVEN THE WAY
SPACECRAFT WANT TO BE ORIENTED
TO THE SUN, FOR EXAMPLE, MAKE
SURE WHEN THEY SEPARATE, THEY
GET POWER ONTO SOLAR CELLS, IF
YOU'RE WONDERING WHY WE HAVE A
CAMERA POINTED RIGHT AT SUN,
THAT'S TO MAKE SURE THE
SPACECRAFT GETS NICE AND WARM,
GETS POWER AND EVERYTHING
LOOKS GOOD.
WE TALKED ABOUT THE EIGHT-DAY
JOURNEY TO THE MOON, THE
ATHENA LANDER IS CARRYING
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
INVESTIGATIONS FROM CLPS THAT
WILL HELP PAVE THE WAY FOR
HUMANS TO LIVE AND WORK AT THE
MOON.
AT TODAY'S MISSION IS THE
SECOND CLPS MISSION FOR
INTUITIVE MACHINES.
NOW WE'RE WAITING RIGHT NOW,
SEPARATION COMING UP A LITTLE
UNDER THREE MINUTES.
GETTING MORE VIEWS.
THE FLIGHT COMPUTER IS CYCLING
BETWEEN THE VARIOUS STAGES OF
STAGE 2.
GOT A VIEW OF THE NOZZLE, THAT
WILL MAKE A LARGE MANEUVER AS
THEY GET TO THE MOON, BUT
RIGHT NOW EVERYTHING IS QUIET
ON THE LUNAR LANDER.
THERE'S A VIEW OF THE NOZZLE
EXTENSION ONE SIDE, HERE'S THE
OTHER CAMERA AT THE BACK END
OF THE SECOND STAGE.
THE SILVER BLANKET THAT YOU
SEE IS MULTILAYER INSULATION.
WE PUT THAT OVER THE BACK END,
THAT KEEPS THE VALVES
UNDERNEATH AND THE ELECTRONICS
WARM AND COOL.
WARM FROM THE CHILL OF
DARKNESS AND THE VACUUM OF
SPACE AND ALSO HELPS INSULATE
IT FROM THE HOT RADIATIVE
PLUME WHEN WE FIRE THE SECOND
STAGE ENGINE.
>> THAT'S SOME COOL VIEWS OF
THE SUNRISE COMING UP FROM THE
EARTH'S HORIZON OVER THERE
WHICH IS VERY COOL, VERY COOL
TO SEE.
>> 42 MINUTES, EVERYTHING
CONTINUES TO BE NOMINAL ON THE
SECOND STAGE.
NOW JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA
WHERE WE'VE BEEN, WHERE WE'RE
GOING, IN ABOUT ONE MINUTE,
WE'RE GOING TO GET DEPLOYMENT
OF INTUITIVE MACHINES-2 LUNAR
LANDER, NAMED ATHENA.
WE HAD LAUNCH, WE GOT INTO
ORBIT WITH THE FIRST BURN OF
THE ENGINE YOU SEE ON THE
SCREEN.
WE JUST FINISHED THE SECOND
BURN ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AGO,
AND WE'RE IN A COAST FACE ON
STAGE 2 MAKING SURE EVERYTHING
ON THE STAGE IS QUIET, DO
FINAL VENTS AND MAKE SURE THE
STAGE IS STABLE, NOT MOVING
AROUND, AND WE'LL SEE
DEPLOYMENT.
IT WILL BE INTERESTING.
NOT SURE WHICH CAMERA VIEWS WE
GET AT DEPLOYMENT.
ONCE WE DO THE DEPLOYMENT, WE
START ANOTHER SEQUENCE THAT
TAKES 3 MINUTES AND 50 SECONDS
AND GET TO THE RIDESHARE
DEPLOYMENT.
WE'LL HAVE ONE AND THEN EVERY
20 SECONDS AND 20 SECONDS
AFTER THAT.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE JUST COUNTING
DOWN, WAITING FOR DEPLOYMENT.
LET'S LISTEN INTO THE
COUNTDOWN NOW.
WE HAVE INTUITIVE MACHINES
NOVA CONTROL IN HOUSTON, TEXAS
WAITING FOR ACQUISITION OF
SIGNAL, ATHENA'S FIRST CALL
HOME, WHILE ALSO MONITORING
SpaceX.
>> CAN YOU CALL OUT WHEN WE
SHOULD HAVE BOOTED?
IF WE GET CLOSE, GIVE US A
CALL.
>> THAT'S INTUITIVE MACHINES
MISSION CONTROL CONFIRMING
ATHENA SEPARATION CONFIRMED,
AND WHILE WE STAND BY AND KEEP
RUNNING THIS CLOCK FOR ABOUT
FIVE MINUTES AFTER LAUNCH
VEHICLE SEPARATION, THAT'S
WHEN WE EXPECT THE FIRST CALL
HOME, UNTIL THEN WE'LL BE
CALLING OUT THE RIDESHARE
DEPLOYMENTS.
>> STAND BY AND FOCUS ON
SINGAPORE.
>> ONSCREEN LOOKING AT
INTUITIVE MACHINES NOVA
CONTROL ON THE LEFT, AND
LOOKING AT THE SECOND STAGE
VIEWS ON THE RIGHT WITH
SpaceX, TAHIRA.
>> GORGEOUS VIEWS, LOOK AT
THAT EARTH, THAT'S US.
>> ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.
A LOT OF THINGS ARE HAPPENING
RIGHT NOW.
DYNAMIC SITUATION WHERE ATHENA
IS PREPARING TO MAKE THE FIRST
CALL HOME.
WE'RE COUNTING OUT THE TIME
THAT SINCE ATHENA HAS
SEPARATED BECAUSE AT LAUNCH
VEHICLE SEPARATION, ATHENA
STARTS TO COUNT DOWN WHEN SHE
CAN POWER ON.
>> EARLIEST TIME FOR TRANSMIT,
WE'RE AT 1:55.
>> ALL RIGHT, 1:55.
LET'S LISTEN INTO THE LOOPS
HERE AS WE LISTEN TO INTUITIVE
MACHINES MISSION CONTROL.
>> GIVE US ANYTHING YOU GOT
FROM THE GROUND STATION.
>> AS WELL AS SpaceX IN HAUTH
OWN WAITING FOR RIDESHARE
DEPLOYMENTS.
LET'S LISTEN IN HERE.
>> HERE WE GO.
THOSE CALL US HEARD ARE THE
GROUND AT STATIONS THAT YOU'RE
LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW INSIDE OF
NOVA CONTROL WAITING FOR
GROUND STATIONS ON EARTH TO
ACQUIRE ATHENA'S SIGNAL.
WE'RE STANDING BY IN HOUSTON
FOR ATHENA MAKING FIRST CALL
HOME WAITING FOR THE THREE
RIDESHARE DEPLOYMENTS WEEK
EXPECT ALL THESE THINGS TO
HAPPEN SIMULTANEOUSLY.
>> AND JOSH RIGHT NOW FROM
HAWTHORNE, SHOULD BE 30
SECONDS AWAY FROM STARTING
THAT SEQUENCE OF RIDESHARE
DEPLOY.
FIRST UP SHOULD BE ASTROFORGES
ODIN, 20 SECONDS AFTER THAT
LUNAR TRAILBLAZER AND AFTER
THAT, EPIC'S CHIMERA.
>> ODIN DEPLOYED AS YOU HEARD
OVER THE NET.
>> LUNAR TRAILBLAZER,
SEPARATION CONFIRMED.
>> LUNAR TRAILBLAZER AWAY.
>> WE HEARD THE CALLOUT AND
THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT WHEN THE
TRAILBLAZER SEPARATED, WAIT
ANOTHER 10 SECONDS AND IT WILL
BE CHIMERA.
>> SEPARATION CONFIRMED.
>> ALL SPACECRAFT ARE
SEPARATED.
>> FOUR MINUTES 15 SECONDS.
>> ALL RIGHT.
>> NOW JOSH, TAHIRA, FALCON 9
SECOND STAGE RECEIVED
COMMANDS, EVERYTHING IS
SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOYED.
NOW WE'RE WAITING ON WORD FROM
YOU ALL ON ACQUISITION OF
SIGNAL FROM ATHENA.
>> THANKS A LOT.
LISTENING TO INTUITIVE
MACHINES.
19:09 FOR WINDOW OF VISIBILITY
TO OPEN FOR THE FIRST STATION.
>> THAT'S FLIGHT CONTROLLERS
WAITING FOR THE WINDOW TO
LISTEN IN FOR ATHENA TO MAKE
THE CALL HOME.
JUST ABOUT INSIDE OF THAT
EXPECTED WINDOW FOR HER TO
MAKE THE FIRST CALL.
WE EXPECT --
>> STANDING BY FOR CONNECTION
WITH ATHENA, IS THAT CORRECT?
>> THAT'S CORRECT.
>> WE'RE GETTING SOME
INFORMATION, WE'RE WAITING FOR
VISIBILITY AT OUR FIRST GROUND
STATION TO HEAR.
THOSE ARE THE LARGE RADIO
ASTRONOMY DISHES ON EARTH THAT
ARE NEEDED TO MAKE THAT
CONNECTION TO ATHENA OUT IN
SPACE.
WHAT SHE'S DOING IS
AUTONOMOUSLY COMMISSIONING,
TURNING ON HER POWER SYSTEMS,
GETTING INTO MAX POWER
ATTITUDE, POINTING THE TOP
DECK SOLAR ARRAY RIGHT AT THE
SUN, GETTING GOOD POWER COMING
THROUGH AND GETTING A LITTLE
BIT OF INFORMATION HERE THAT
THE VISIBILITY OF THE FIRST
STATION, THE FIRST GROUND
STATION TO MAKE THE CONNECTION
WITH ATHENA, 19:09, IN THE
NEXT COUPLE MINUTES, MISSION
CONTROL STANDING BY FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY.
WE'RE NOT GOING TO HEAR THE
CONFIRMATION UNTIL GROUND
STATION IS READY TO RECEIVE
THAT SIGNAL.
>> 19:09 FOR VISIBILITY?
>> THAT'S CORRECT.
>> THAT'S 19:09, TALKING IN
CENTRAL TIME.
SO THAT'S 8:07 HERE ON THE
EAST COAST, IF YOU ARE A
COUPLE MINUTES AWAY, FLIGHT
CONTROLLERS WATCHING SCREENS
WAITING TO MAKE FIRST
CONNECTION WITH ATHENA WHILE
SHE'S BEEN AUTONOMOUSLY
COMMISSIONING HERSELF IN
SPACE.
THE PROCESS OF GETTING THE MAX
POWER ATTITUDE, GETTING RADIO
PAIRS ON ALL WHILE MOVING
24,000 MILES.
>> DOING A LOT.
WHAT HAPPENS IF ATHENA EXCEEDS
THAT TIME WINDOW?
>> IF ATHENA EXCEEDS THAT TIME
WINDOW, IT'S OKAY.
SHE'S PROGRAMMED TO SWAP
RADIOS AND ANTENNA PAIRS TO
GET IN A BETTER CONFIGURATION
TO MAKE FIRST CONTACT WITH
FLIGHT CONTROLLERS.
ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE
SCREEN, THAT'S NOVA CONTROL IN
HOUSTON, TEXAS.
.
>> 7 MINUTES 25 SECONDS PAST
SET.
>> THAT'S 7 MINUTES AND 25
SECONDS SINCE WE HEARD.
>> SHOULD BE GETTING A CALL
SHORTLY TO CONNECT.
>> THAT'S A GOOD CALL FROM
ACTIVITY DIRECTOR, THAT'S JOHN
GRAVES WAITING FOR GROUND
STATION TO CONNECT TO ATHENA,
AS WE CONTINUE TO WATCH VIDEO
FROM THE SECOND STAGE, THAT'S
SpaceX ON THE RIGHT AND
INTUITIVE MACHINES ON THE
LEFT.
WE'LL SEE WHAT TIME DO WE HAVE
HERE?
ABOUT 8:08 P.M. EASTERN
STANDARD.
WE'RE STANDING BY FOR THE
GROUND STATIONS ON EARTH TO
RECEIVE THE SIGNAL THAT WE
EXPECT ATHENA IS READY AND
ALREADY MAKING THAT CALL BACK
TO THAT AUTONOMOUS
COMMISSIONING PROCESS.
IF WE DON'T MAKE THE
CONNECTION, IT'S GOING TO BE
ALL RIGHT.
>> IT'S OKAY.
OKAY GOOD.
.
>> WE HEARD A CALL FROM
MISSION CONTROL TALKING ABOUT
A COMFITTER HALFWAY THROUGH
THE CYCLE.
WHAT ARE WE SEEING?
NOT GET ANYTHING FEEDBACK?
WORKING THAT ONE, VISIBILITY
IS OPEN FOR OKINAWA.
>> 1:29.
>> WE'RE LISTENING INTO WHEN
THE GROUND STATIONS WILL HAVE
COVERAGE TO CONNECT WITH
ATHENA IN SPACE.
>> WHAT ABOUT DSS34?
>> LET'S TOSS IT BACK TO JOHN
IN HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA.
>> WE ARE 9 MINUTES 30 SECONDS
PAST THAT.
>> THANKS, JOSH.
NOW WE'RE HEARING COMS IN THE
BACKGROUND RIGHT NOW.
NOW FOR THOSE OF YOU FOLLOWING
ALONG, YOU'LL KNOW THAT THIS
MISSION MARKS OUR 24th LAUNCH
OF THE YEAR, AND WE'RE GEARING
UP FOR THE SPHERE-X AND PUNCH
MISSION LAUNCHING FROM
VANDENBERG AIRBASE AND NASA'S
MISSION TO THE INTERNATIONAL
SPACE STATION.
>> CAN ALWAYS FOLLOW ALONG AT
SpaceX.COM LAUNCHES FOR
UP-TO-DATE MISSIONS AND
SCHEDULES, AND BEFORE WE SIGN
OFF HERE AT SpaceX, LET'S GO
BACK TO TAHIRA AND JOSH AT
KENNEDY.
>> THANKS A LOT, JOHN AND YEO
MAE.
>> THINK WE CAN DO THAT AND
GET AT LEAST THAT, THAT WOULD
BE GREAT.
>> WE HAVE EXCEEDED NOMINAL
ACQUISITION SINGLE TIMING,
USING THE NEW SET OF
PROCEDURES THAT WILL CONTINUE
OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MINUTES.
WORKING TO CONFIRM OUR
COMMUNICATIONS CONFIGURATION
IS CORRECT THAT THE FLOWN
TRAJECTORY MATCHES THE
EXPECTATIONS AND GROUND
STATION DISH IS USING THE
RIGHT TRAJECTORY, THAT'S BEEN
A LOT OF TIMING AND THINGS WE
HEARD IN CHATTER IN MISSION
CONTROL.
>> WE ARE WATCHING FLIGHT
CONTROLLERS IN NOVA CONTROL
WORKING TO CONFIRM WHERE
NOVA-C SEPARATED FROM THE
LAUNCH VEHICLE AND MATCHING
THAT DATA TO THE GROUND
STATIONS DISH WORKING TO
ACQUIRE THE LANDER SIGNAL.
>> THE TEAM IS EXPECTED TO
CONTINUE THIS PROCESS FOR
SEVERAL MINUTES UNTIL ATHENA'S
AUTONOMOUS PROCEDURES CALL OUT
A NEW PROCESS.
WE HEARD THEM CALL OUT SEVERAL
TIMES THE TIME TO COMMUNICATE
BACK TO EARTH.
THIS INCLUDES CYCLING ATHENA'S
POWER SYSTEM, SWITCHING RADIOS
AND SWAPPING ANTENNAS TO SETS
THAT HAVE NOT BEEN USED YET,
ALL AT THE SAME TIME WORKING
WITH SpaceX TO CONFIRM A GOOD
VEHICLE LAUNCH SEPARATION,
THAT MEANS A GOOD TRANSLUNAR
ORBIT.
>> TIME TO CONFIGURE THE DSN
CONNECTION?
>> YOU SHOULD BE ON NOW.
>> OKAY GROUND NET.
>> THAT'S GROUND NET TRYING TO
WORK THE GROUND STATIONS ON
EARTH TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION
WITH ATHENA, BUT RIGHT NOW WE
KNOW THAT ATHENA.
>> JUST PASSING 12 MINUTES AND
SET.
WE HAVE 4 1/2 MINUTES.
>> THREE MINUTES.
LET'S MOVE.
>> WE KNOW ATHENA IS ON A
FASTBALL SHOT TOWARDS THE
MOON, THAT'S THE TRANSLUNAR
ORBIT, GIVES US A LOT OF
FLEXIBILITY WITHIN OUR FLIGHT
PATH, AND THERE'S MORE CALLS
WORKING WITH THE GROUND
STATIONS ENABLING THE GROUND
STATIONS TO MAKE THE CALLS AND
MAKE THAT CONNECTION WITH
ATHENA.
>> ALL RIGHT.
>> WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO
MONITOR PROGRESS INSIDE OF
NOVA CONTROL.
>> I HAVE COMMAND ACTIVE FOR
DSS-34.
>> SO AS WE CONTINUE TO
MONITOR PROGRESS INSIDE OF
NOVA CONTROL.
WE'LL PAUSE TO LISTEN TO WHAT
FOLKS ARE SAYING IN MISSION
CONTROL.
LET'S RECAP WHAT HAPPENED FROM
LAUNCH COMPLEX 39A AT NASA'S
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER.
WE SAW LIFTOFF AROUND 7:17
P.M. EASTERN STANDARD TIME AND
SAW A REALLY GOOD SHOT THERE.
>> BEAUTIFUL.
>> DSS-34B.
>> I BELIEVE DSS-34B IS
ANOTHER GROUND STATION WITHIN
THE DEEP SPACE NETWORK.
>> ALL RIGHT, WE GETTING
UPDATES?
>> ALL RIGHT, THAT'S A KEY
WORD, WE'RE RECEIVING DATA
BACKETS DOWN FROM ATHENA.
WE SAW THE GREAT SHOT ON A
DRONE SHIP AND SECOND STAGE
START-UP, 36 1/2 MINUTES AFTER
LAUNCH.
WE SAW ATHENA AT LAUNCH
VEHICLE SEPARATE.
>> WHAT DO WE DO TO GET THE
PACKETS?
>> I'M NOT SURE, WE SHOULD BE
SEEING THEM, THOUGH.
ALL RIGHT.
STANDING BY FOR DATA PACKETS.
EVERYONE GLUED TO THEIR
SCREENS HERE.
WE HAD LAUNCH VEHICLE
SEPARATION WITH ATHENA SHY OF
43 MINUTES AFTER LAUNCH.
NOMINAL ACQUISITION SIGNAL
ABOUT FIVE TO SEVEN MINUTES,
WE EXCEEDED THAT TIME.
WE TOUCHED ON THAT AUTONOMOUS
PROCESS OF WHAT ATHENA IS
DOING, BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S MORE
OF A MANUAL PROCESS INSIDE OF
MISSION CONTROL AS THOSE
FLIGHT CONTROLLERS ARE WORKING
TO CONFIGURE THE GROUND
STATION RECOGNIZE THAT
REQUIRED TO MAKE THAT CALL.
IT'S POSSIBLE THAT ATHENA IS
POWERED ON.
>> T-NOCK IS WORKING FOR
ANYTHING WORKING ON DSS
PACKETS.
>> WE MENTIONED A FEW
DIFFERENT GROUND STATIONS
TONIGHT, IF THEY GET THE
SIGNAL FROM ANY OF THEM, DOES
THAT WORK?
>> SOUNDS LIKE THEY'RE
SWITCHING ON GROUND STATIONS,
THEY'RE WORKING TO GET THE
SIGNAL FROM ATHENA, COMING
FROM GROUND NET.
AND YOU CAN SEE FOLKS WORKING
INSIDE MISSION CONTROL TRYING
TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM INSIDE
CIRCULAR CONTROL ROOM ALLOWING
FOLKS TO WHEEL AROUND AND GET
THE INFORMATION THEY NEED.
>> FM, WE'RE EXPECTING ABOUT A
MINUTE FOR THE POWER CYCLE AND
ANOTHER 15.
SAME ANTENNA CONFIG.
>> 30 SECONDS TO THE POWER
CYCLE IS WHAT I GOT.
>> CALL IT OUT, WE'LL START
ALTIMETER.
>> WE'RE WORK THE AUTONOMOUS
PROCESS WITH ATHENA.
>> IS THAT WHAT YOU HAVE?
>> I'M NOW AT 16:17 RIGHT NOW.
>> OKAY, GOT IT.
.
>> GIVE US CAUSE ON THE MAIN
LOOP.
YOU ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT
PERSON IN THE ROOM.
EVERYTHING YOU ARE DOING IS
CRITICAL.
CALL IT ON THE LOOP,
EVERYTHING YOU SEE.
>> ALL RIGHT AS WE HIT THE
REPOWERING PROCESS, IT'S GOING
TO START SEVERAL LONG TERMS.
>> EVERYTHING GOES ON THE MAIN
LOOP.
>> IT WILL GIVE ATHENA TIME TO
CONFIGURE HER SYSTEMS IF
THAT'S WHAT'S REQUIRED, ALSO
TIME GAPS IN BETWEEN WHEN WE
CAN CONFIGURE THESE GROUND
STATIONS.
>> LONGER PERIODS WHEN WE'RE
WAITING FOR AUTONOMOUS
PROCESSES.
>> WAITING FOR PACKETS.
>> CARRIER LOCKS BUT NO
TELEMETRY.
>> NO TELEMETRY?
>> COPY.
>> THAT'S A GOOD SIGN, WE'RE
HEARING CARRIER LOCK.
THAT'S ONE OF THE STEPS ON THE
LUNAR MISSION.
>> I NEED TO BORROW SOMEBODY'S
PHONE.
>> WE ARE SHOWING PACKETS.
ALL RIGHT.
>> EVERYBODY WAKE UP.
>> GOT TO KEEP YOU ON YOUR
TOES, ALL RIGHT.
WE'RE GOING TO START ATHENA
HERE.
THAT IS A GREAT CALL.
AN ACTIVE SITUATION WHERE
WE'RE SWITCHING GROUND
STATIONS IN ORDER TO MAKE
CONTACT WITH ATHENA.
KEPT US ON OUR TOES.
I FEEL FLUSH ON THE FACE,
GETTING THE DATA PACKETS, THE
CONFIRMATION FROM MISSION
CONTROL.
BEST NEWS I HEARD ALL NIGHT.
I DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING WAS
GOING TO TOP WATCHING THE
LAUNCH, TAHIRA.
JARED:
>> CAN WE BREATHE EASY NOW?
>> WE CAN, WORKING THE PACKETS
AND PROVIDING UPDATES ON OUR
PAGE AS WELL AS ON OUR X
ACCOUNT AS THEY CONTINUE TO
WORK THIS CHALLENGE, BUT WHAT
AN ACTION-PACKED MOMENT,
RIDESHARE DEPLOYMENTS AND
ATHENA'S FIRST CALL HOME TO
LET US KNOW SHE IS READY FOR
HER LUNAR JOURNEY AND THIS IS
CHALLENGES AND ATHENA'S SIGNAL
AND GETTING PACKETS AND MAYBE
HAVING MORE CHALLENGES, THOSE
ARE THE MILESTONE LANDING AND
OPERATING ON THE LUNAR
SURFACE.
>> LIKE YOU SAID, WHAT AN
ACTION-PACKED MOMENT.
SO GLAD TO GET THAT CALLOUT.
JOSH, YOU CAN TELL US WHAT IS
NEXT FOR ATHENA?
CAN YOU GIVE US DETAILS ON
LUNAR LANDING?
>> WITH TODAY'S LAUNCH, WE
EXPECT ATHENA TO LAND EIGHT
DAYS FROM NOW ON MARCH 6.
AFTER VEHICLE CHECKOUTS WE
HOPE TO SEND ATHENA SELFIES
WITH EARTH IN THE BACKGROUND
AND CAPTURE NEW IMAGES ALONG
HER JOURNEY.
OVER THE FIRST FIVE DAYS EN
ROUTE TO THE MOON, PERFORM
MULTIPLE SMALL ENGINE FIRINGS
TO HONE IN TRAJECTORY TO THE
MOON BEFORE ORBITING TO LUNAR
ORBIT INSERTION, AN 11 MINUTE
BURN TO GET CAPTURED INTO
LUNAR ORBIT.
WE EXPECT TO SEND ANOTHER
BATCH OF LUNAR SELFIES BACK TO
EARTH.
>> RIGHT?
>> AND ON MARCH 6, LUNCHTIME
EASTERN, WE EXPECT ATHENA TO
MAKE A LANDING ATTEMPT AND TO
SPEND TEN DAYS CONDUCTING
LUNAR SURFACE OPERATIONS.
>> BEST OF LUCK, JOSH.
THAT'S GOING TO WRAP UP NASA
INTUITIVE MACHINES AND SpaceX
COVERAGE OF THE LAUNCH OF
INTUITIVE MACHINES-2 LUNAR
LANDER ATHENA FROM LAUNCH PAD
39A AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER.
>> IF ALL GOES WELL, ATHENA IS
EXPECTED TO LAND ON THE MOON
EIGHT DAYS FROM NOW, ON MARCH
6.
>> WE'LL BRING YOU THE
COVERAGE LIVE ON NASA+.
UNTIL THEN, YOU CAN FIND OUT
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS
COMMISSION IS OTHER NASA CLPS
LAUNCHES BY SCANNING THE QR
CODE ON THE SCREEN OR VISITING
NASA.GOV/CLPS.
WE WILL LEAVE YOU WITH A
REPLAY OF TONIGHT'S LAUNCH.
FROM EVERYONE AT NASA, JOSH
NATIONAL AND INTUITIVE
MACHINES AND SpaceX, I'M
TAHIRA ALLEN, HAVE A GREAT
NIGHT.
T-MINUS 15, T-MINUS 10, 9, 8,
7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
IGNITION AND LIFTOFF.
GO FALCON.
GO INTUITIVE MACHINES.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
.
>> FOLDS PITCHING DOWNRANGE.
>> NOMINAL.