Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission launch today at 7:16 pm ET for a March 6 landing near the lunar south pole.
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The AMSAT-DL display on their YouTube channel is showing a signal from the AstroForge Odin spacecraft at 2.29475 GHz (S-band). Not clear whether that is the comms downlink or the beacon or some stray signal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goRGL5kFwyIFor those unfamiliar with AMSAT-DL, the organization uses a 20m radio telescope at Bochum Observatory in Germany to observe transmissions from various spacecraft.
@cosmos4u
21/n
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Update from Intuitive Machines -
The IM-2 mission Nova-C class lunar lander, Athena was successfully commissioned in space with stable attitude, solar charging and radio communications.
Lunar orbit insertion is planned for March 3, landing on March 6.
They posted 2 pics taken by the camera onboard IM-2, one of them is shown below.
https://investors.intuitivemachines.com/news-releases/news-release-details/intuitive-machines-im-2-lunar-lander-successfully-commissioned
Photos at https://www.flickr.com/photos/intuitivemachines/
22/n
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AMSAT-DL reported seeing a signal from the AstroForge Odin spacecraft around 07:48 UTC.
No signal at the present moment.
No word from AstroForge on the status of the mission.
https://bsky.app/profile/amsat-dl.org/post/3lj5oymxpwc2n
AMSAT-DL YouTube livestream - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkRSWm0vAaM
23/n
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Minor update from AstroForge -
"Small update: after countless ground station issues, we have had multiple communication points with Odin. We’re not out of the woods, but we have a path forward which we will attempt at 11pm tonight."
The control room looks quiet and empty, for now. Keeping fingers crossed for 11 pm tonight (presumably PST).
24/n
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Not-so-good news on the Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft from NASA -
After deployment, comms was established at 5:13 p.m. PST. Telemetry indicated intermittent power system issues. Comms was lost Thursday morning at about 4:30 a.m. PST.
"Several hours later, the spacecraft turned on its transmitter, and the team now is working with NASA ground stations to reestablish telemetry and commanding to better assess the power system issues and develop potential solutions."
https://blogs.nasa.gov/trailblazer/
25/n
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Status summary of these rideshare missions:
- Intuitive Machines IM-2: All good.
- NASA Lunar Trailblazer: Power system issues.
- AstroForge Odin: Comms unsuccessful. Next attempt Feb 27, 11 p.m. PST.
- EPIC AEROSPACE CHIMERA GEO 1: Downlink and spacecraft health good. No word on uplink yet.26/n
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Here is a timelapse video posted by Intuitive Machines composed from images taken by the IM-2 Athena spacecraft after separation.
"Athena used 4 super-wide field-of-view public affairs cameras to take pictures every minute for 30 minutes starting 100 seconds after separating from SpaceX’s second stage. Then, Athena took photos every 5 minutes for the next hour."
Athena is approx. halfway to the Moon and continues to communicate with flight controllers in Houston.
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Things are looking grim at AstroForge as hope is fading away with each passing hour.
2 short bursts of data were received from Odin yesterday, nothing since then. Data from the 2nd burst has not been delivered by DSN yet.
CEO Matt Gialich indicated moments ago in a briefing that the limited data they have indicates that the spacecraft is likely tumbling.
The livestream will be turned off soon, but they will continue to monitor and send commands over the weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/live/WV9EXw07tSs
28/n
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Long post from AstroForge on the current status and the timeline of events for the Odin spacecraft.
Summary:
No contact yet.
Spacecraft likely tumbling.
Lots of issues with faulty configuration, ground station snafus, signal interference (the ground station in India is near a cell tower, really?).
Not been able to successfully get the command thru to turn on the power amp, the increasing distance making it more difficult.
Lots to learn from these mistakes. -
The Intuitive Machines IM-2 Athena spacecraft completed a 492-second main engine Lunar Orbit Insertion (LOI) burn at 7:27 a.m. EST on March 3 and is currently in a circular orbit around the Moon.
Athena will complete 39 lunar orbits before landing on March 6, around 12:32 p.m. EST when it will be lunar morning at the landing site near the South Pole.
Pl. see the rest of this thread for mission info.
No updates on AstroForge or Lunar Trailblazer
https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-2
#IM2 #Athena
30/n
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Update on the NASA Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft:
- NASA has not successfully re-established comms. with the spacecraft.
- The team believes the spacecraft is spinning slowly in a low-power state, not getting sufficient sunlight to fully charge batteries.
- Scheduled trajectory correction maneuvers (TCMs) have been skipped.
- Alternative TCM strategies are being explored that could be used after reacquiring comms and establishing normal spacecraft functionality.
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As the Intuitive Machines Athena spacecraft prepares for landing tomorrow March 6, around 12:32 p.m. EST, it has been taking images of the lunar surface.
The image sequence from 0 seconds to 20 seconds is from a public affairs camera and is made up of 240 images taken over a mid-latitude region over a 10-minute span.
The image sequence starting at 20 seconds is over the Moon's south pole region near her intended landing site, Mons Mouton.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIJamsyvt0Q
https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-2
32/n -
Link to the webcast for the landing of the Intuitive Machines Athena lunar lander today at 12:32 p.m. EST (17:32 UTC).
The NASA webcast will begin at 11:30 a.m. EST (16:30 UTC).
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Intuitive Machines reports that the Athena lunar lander completed its Descent Orbit Insertion maneuver at 5:33 a.m. EST (10:33 UTC).
Flight controllers are now gathering data and checking the lander’s landing systems for accuracy.
See graphic below for key events and milestones in the landing sequence.
The next two and half hours will be exciting and nail-biting.
https://www.intuitivemachines.com/im-2
34/n
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At G - 00:21:04, all is well with the Intuitive Machines Athena lunar lander as it closes in on touchdown time at 12:32 EST (17:32 UTC).
Altitude: 15.429 km
Speed: 6,080 km/hWebcast at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOPL8nhmQU4
45/n
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