This Valentine’s Day, SpaceX is setting hearts aflutter with not one, but two rocket launches. The Falcon 9 rockets are scheduled to take off from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The first launch, Nova C (IM-1), is set for 12:57am, followed by the USSF-124 mission at 5:30pm. These back-to-back launches will elevate our national security and lunar knowledge. They will also continue to demonstrate SpaceX’s ability to make rocket launches affordable and practical.
Will Commercial Lunar Lander Nova-C Succeed Where Peregrine Failed?
The Nova-C IM-1 mission, organized by Intuitive Machines in collaboration with NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program is an ambitious lunar exploration mission. The mission’s primary objective is to land the Nova-C lander, also known as Odysseus, on the moon, carrying a suite of payloads from NASA as well as commercial entities. If a successful lunar landing occurs, it will be the first commercial landing by the NASA CLPS program. The first attempt on January 8th, 2024, failed when the Peregrine lunar lander by Astrobotic encountered a propulsion system malfunction.