Intuitive Machines calls ground testing of Nova-C “a crucial step forward.”
Intuitive Machines has completed a test run of its Nova-C lunar lander at its facilities in Houston.
The spacecraft test run verified Nova-C’s flight software, flight avionics, liquid oxygen and liquid methane loading, high-pressure helium system performance and propulsion system functionality, ending in a hot fire of the Nova-C’s main engine, Intuitive Machines said July 13.
“This was the most comprehensive test to date short of flying the lander in space,” says Steve Altemus, Intuitive Machines CEO. “This test run represents a crucial step forward in validating the performance of the entire Nova-C lunar lander system on its way to the Moon.”
The spacecraft’s initial mission, scheduled to launch in the third quarter of this year on a SpaceX Falcon 9, is funded through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and is dubbed IM-1. The lander is to touch down on the rim of the Malapert A crater near the Moon’s south pole and carry five NASA payloads and commercial cargo.
The lander is designed to operate for about 14 Earth days in sunlight on the Moon’s surface. During that time, its instruments will gather data on plume-surface interactions, radio astronomy and space weather interactions with the lunar surface, NASA said. The spacecraft’s inaugural mission will also demonstrate precision landing, communication and navigation technologies.
