News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
28
o
Bekaa
19
o
Keserwan
29
o
Metn
29
o
Mount Lebanon
23
o
North
29
o
South
28
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
The Stage
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
28
o
Bekaa
19
o
Keserwan
29
o
Metn
29
o
Mount Lebanon
23
o
North
29
o
South
28
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
Private moon lander launched to conduct first US lunar touchdown half-century after last Apollo lunar mission
World News
2024-02-15 | 04:22
High views
Share
Share
5
min
Private moon lander launched to conduct first US lunar touchdown half-century after last Apollo lunar mission
A moon lander built by Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines was launched from Florida early on Thursday on a mission to conduct the first US lunar touchdown in more than a half century and the first by a privately owned spacecraft.
The company's Nova-C lander, dubbed Odysseus, lifted off shortly after 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT) atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket flown by Elon Musk' SpaceX from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
A live NASA-SpaceX online video feed showed the two-stage, 25-story rocket roaring off the launch pad and streaking into the dark sky over Florida's Atlantic coast, trailed by a fiery yellowish plume of exhaust.
About 48 minutes after launch, the six-legged lander was shown being released from Falcon 9's upper stage about 139 miles above Earth and drifting away on its voyage to the moon.
"IM-1 Odysseus lunar lander separation confirmed," a mission controller was heard saying.
Moments later, mission operations in Houston received its first radio signals from Odysseus as the lander began an automated process of powering on its systems and orienting itself in space, according to webcast commentators.
Although considered an Intuitive Machines mission, the IM-1 flight is carrying six NASA payloads of instruments designed to gather data about the lunar environment ahead of NASA's planned return of astronauts to the moon later this decade.
Thursday's launch came a month after the lunar lander of another private firm, Astrobotic Technology, suffered a propulsion system leak on its way to the moon shortly after being placed in orbit on Jan. 8 by a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket making its debut flight.
The failure of Astrobotic's Peregrine lander, which was also flying NASA payloads to the moon, marked the third time a private company had been unable to achieve a "soft landing" on the lunar surface, following ill-fated efforts by companies from Israel and Japan.
Those mishaps illustrated the risks NASA faces in leaning more heavily on the commercial sector than it had in the past to realize its spaceflight goals.
Plans call for Odysseus to reach its destination after a weeklong flight, with a Feb. 22 landing at crater Malapert A near the moon's south pole.
If successful, the flight would represent the first controlled descent to the lunar surface by a US spacecraft since the final Apollo crewed moon mission in 1972, and the first by a private company.
The feat also would mark the first journey to the lunar surface under NASA's Artemis moon program, as the US races to return astronauts to Earth's natural satellite before China lands its own crewed spacecraft there.
IM-1 is the latest test of NASA's strategy of paying for the use of spacecraft built and owned by private companies to slash the cost of the Artemis missions, envisioned as precursors to human exploration of Mars.
By contrast, during the Apollo era, NASA bought rockets and other technology from the private sector, but owned and operated them itself.
NASA announced last month that it was delaying its target date for a first crewed Artemis moon landing from 2025 to late 2026, while China has said it was aiming for 2030.
Small landers such as Nova-C are expected to get there first, carrying instruments to closely survey the lunar landscape, its resources and potential hazards. Odysseus will focus on space weather interactions with the moon's surface, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies and navigation.
Intuitive Machine's IM-2 mission is scheduled to land at the lunar south pole in 2024, followed by an IM-3 mission later in the year with several small rovers.
Last month, Japan became the fifth country to place a lander on the moon, with its space agency JAXA achieving an unusually precise "pinpoint" touchdown of its SLIM probe last month. Last year, India became the fourth nation to land on the moon, after Russia failed in an attempt the same month.
The United States, the former Soviet Union and China are the only other countries that have carried out successful soft lunar touchdowns. China scored a world first in 2019 by achieving the first landing on the far side of the moon.
Reuters
World News
Variety and Tech
Moon
Aerospace
Intuitive Machines
US
Spacecraft
Elon Musk
SpaceX
NASA
Next
Italy refuses extradition of Palestinian to Israel over rights fears
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
News Bulletin Reports
13:08
Securing nomination: Can Harris secure Michigan delegates for Democratic nomination?
News Bulletin Reports
13:08
Securing nomination: Can Harris secure Michigan delegates for Democratic nomination?
0
News Bulletin Reports
13:05
War resolution: Netanyahu confronted with ceasefire demands in talks with US leaders
News Bulletin Reports
13:05
War resolution: Netanyahu confronted with ceasefire demands in talks with US leaders
0
World News
11:37
France’s train network hit by arson attacks hours before Olympic ceremony
World News
11:37
France’s train network hit by arson attacks hours before Olympic ceremony
0
Lebanon News
10:42
US President Biden issues deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals, protecting them from deportation for 18 months
Lebanon News
10:42
US President Biden issues deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals, protecting them from deportation for 18 months
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-07-19
Blinken: Israel-Hamas ceasefire close to the goal line
Israel-Gaza War Updates
2024-07-19
Blinken: Israel-Hamas ceasefire close to the goal line
0
Middle East News
2024-04-13
Alarm sirens sound in Northern Israel on Lebanon border
Middle East News
2024-04-13
Alarm sirens sound in Northern Israel on Lebanon border
0
Lebanon News
2024-05-02
Lebanon's Minister Ali Hamie warns of Israeli threat to air navigation safety
Lebanon News
2024-05-02
Lebanon's Minister Ali Hamie warns of Israeli threat to air navigation safety
0
Middle East News
00:05
Rockets launched at Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, no casualties
Middle East News
00:05
Rockets launched at Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, no casualties
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
World News
2024-07-21
Full Transcript: Trump's Coordinator of Arab Relations Discusses Plan to Win Arab Voters and Achieve Peace
World News
2024-07-21
Full Transcript: Trump's Coordinator of Arab Relations Discusses Plan to Win Arab Voters and Achieve Peace
0
Lebanon News
2024-07-18
Two dead in Israeli airstrike on Jmeijmeh, south Lebanon (Video)
Lebanon News
2024-07-18
Two dead in Israeli airstrike on Jmeijmeh, south Lebanon (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-07-11
Hezbollah's Ibrahim Moussawi to CNN: Regional powers do not seek full-scale conflict
Lebanon News
2024-07-11
Hezbollah's Ibrahim Moussawi to CNN: Regional powers do not seek full-scale conflict
0
Lebanon News
2024-07-09
Hezbollah’s "Hudhud" shows new footage of Israeli sites
Lebanon News
2024-07-09
Hezbollah’s "Hudhud" shows new footage of Israeli sites
0
Lebanon News
2024-06-18
Hezbollah scouts areas in northern Israel: What the hoopoe came back with (Video)
Lebanon News
2024-06-18
Hezbollah scouts areas in northern Israel: What the hoopoe came back with (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-06-12
Over 100 rockets launched from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel (Video)
Lebanon News
2024-06-12
Over 100 rockets launched from southern Lebanon toward northern Israel (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-06-10
Video shows Israeli drone downing in Iqlim al-Tuffah, South Lebanon
Lebanon News
2024-06-10
Video shows Israeli drone downing in Iqlim al-Tuffah, South Lebanon
0
Middle East News
2024-05-21
Funeral ceremony of the Iranian president begins in Tabriz (Video)
Middle East News
2024-05-21
Funeral ceremony of the Iranian president begins in Tabriz (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2024-05-14
Exclusive LBCI interview: Canadian FM urges ceasefire and Resolution 1701 adherence in Lebanon talks, discusses Canadian support for LAF, UNIFIL
Lebanon News
2024-05-14
Exclusive LBCI interview: Canadian FM urges ceasefire and Resolution 1701 adherence in Lebanon talks, discusses Canadian support for LAF, UNIFIL
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
Lebanon News
10:32
The Countdown Is On! Summer's Most Awaited Event: Miss Lebanon, Live Tomorrow at 8:30 PM on LBCI and lbcgroup.tv
Lebanon News
10:32
The Countdown Is On! Summer's Most Awaited Event: Miss Lebanon, Live Tomorrow at 8:30 PM on LBCI and lbcgroup.tv
2
Lebanon News
10:42
US President Biden issues deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals, protecting them from deportation for 18 months
Lebanon News
10:42
US President Biden issues deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals, protecting them from deportation for 18 months
3
Lebanon News
11:33
US President Biden’s deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals is not an indication of imminence of further escalation
Lebanon News
11:33
US President Biden’s deferred enforced departure for Lebanese nationals is not an indication of imminence of further escalation
4
Lebanon Economy
02:19
Fuel prices decrease in Lebanon
Lebanon Economy
02:19
Fuel prices decrease in Lebanon
5
Middle East News
00:05
Rockets launched at Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, no casualties
Middle East News
00:05
Rockets launched at Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq, no casualties
6
World News
06:12
Airport at Franco-Swiss border evacuated for 'security reasons'
World News
06:12
Airport at Franco-Swiss border evacuated for 'security reasons'
7
World News
00:55
Harris urges Netanyahu to alleviate Gaza's suffering: 'I will not be silent'
World News
00:55
Harris urges Netanyahu to alleviate Gaza's suffering: 'I will not be silent'
8
News Bulletin Reports
13:05
War resolution: Netanyahu confronted with ceasefire demands in talks with US leaders
News Bulletin Reports
13:05
War resolution: Netanyahu confronted with ceasefire demands in talks with US leaders
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More