Space fans all around the world are preparing for yet another historic space mission. This time around, Intuitive Machines will launch its Nova-C lander to the moon, giving the company the chance to become the first U.S. lunar lander since Apollo. Here’s how to watch it happen live.
Now, of course, being able to attend such a historic launch in person would be ideal. However, it isn’t feasible for many of us to travel to watch the launch happen in person. Thankfully, NASA and others will be streaming the entire thing. Additionally, the Nova-C lander will be the first to include Columbia’s Omni-Heat technology aboard the lander.
The current launch window for the Nova-C lander is February 14 to February 16. Liftoff was originally scheduled for 12:57 a.m. EST on February 14. However, the launch has been delayed to February 15 at 1:05 a.m. EST. SpaceX cited a temperature issue with the spacecraft’s liquid methane fuel as the reasoning for the delay.
Despite the delay, IM-1 is still well on schedule, as SpaceX and Intuitive Machines had set aside a three-day launch window for the historic mission. Assuming everything else goes off without any issue, the spacecraft carrying the Nova-C lunar lander will be well on its way to the moon by the time most of us wake up tomorrow.
This launch is especially important because it has the potential to be the first U.S. lunar lander to land on the moon since the Apollo program ended over 50 years ago. Peregrine was previously the most likely to achieve this goal. However, the lander experienced issues after launch, and Peregrine ended up burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere upon reentry.
NASA will live stream the event on the official NASA TV app, as well as on YouTube via the embedded video above. The Nova-C lander will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket. As such, SpaceX will also host a livestream of the launch on X (formerly Twitter), and Intuitive Machines will host a livestream on its mission site, too.
