Three-peat: Intuitive Machines Selects SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket for Third Moon Mission

Intuitive Machines continues its mission to build a cislunar economy with its third mission (IM-3) to the Moon that will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket. 

“We’re offering our customers more than lunar surface payload delivery and extreme surface mobility,” said Steve Altemus, the president and CEO of Intuitive Machines. “Our turnkey solution for delivering, communicating, and commanding customer payloads on and around the Moon is revolutionary. Now, we’re proving we can do it at an annual cadence.”

The IM-3 mission includes a Nova-C class lander to land 130kg of payloads on the lunar surface. It also has excess capacity on the launch vehicle that accommodates 1000kg of payloads on a rideshare dispenser ring that deploys into a lunar transfer orbit. Intuitive Machines’ “rideshare” option puts customers in a high-energy orbit to efficiently proceed to lunar capture, redirect to points elsewhere in high Earth orbit, or depart for destinations in the solar system. 

By expanding on Intuitive Machines’ capability developed through NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, we can offer an annual launch cadence starting with IM-1 and extending beyond our first three missions. The reliable cadence allows industry partners and customers the lead times needed to secure funding, develop advanced technologies, and become part of building the cislunar economy.