Expedition Space: Space Launch, Events, News

by Jeff Foust WASHINGTON — The first lunar lander mission by Intuitive Machines, which had been scheduled for launch late this year, has been delayed to early 2022 by its launch provider, SpaceX. Intuitive Machines had planned to launch its Nova-C lander on the IM-1 mission in the fourth quarter of this year on a SpaceX Falcon 9, carrying a combination of commercial and NASA payloads. A March 24 news release about an agreement to use the Parkes radio telescope in Australia as a ground station for the mission mentioned a launch “towards the end of 2021.” However, in an April 23 application filed with the Federal Communications Commission to obtain S-band spectrum for the mission, Intuitive Machines said that the lander was now scheduled for launch in early 2022. The company didn’t provide a more specific launch date or a reason for the delay in its FCC filing. Intuitive Machines spokesman Josh Marshall said April 26 that the slip was caused by its launch provider. “SpaceX informe...

by Jeff Foust KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — NASA’s acting head says the agency’s relationship with Russia remains good despite comments by Russian officials in recent days that the country could abandon the International Space Station as soon as 2025. Yuri Borisov, Russian deputy prime minister, said on Russian television April 18 that Russia could withdraw from the ISS partnership in 2025 . He cited increasing problems with the station as a reason for considering leaving the station, but said Russia would first perform a “technical inspection” and that the other partners would be “fairly notified” about its decision. Officials since backed off from a firm 2025 date for exiting the ISS partnership, but have talked about proposals to develop a Russian national space station as its successor to the ISS. Dmitry Rogozin, director general of Roscosmos, said April 21 his agency plans to revise a research and power module originally intended for the Russian segment of the ISS in the mid-2...