(Update: Launched) SpaceX defers launch of Intuitive Machines' lunar lander to the Moon

SpaceX has deferred the launch of Intuitive Machines' first mission to the Moon, dubbed IM-1, due to off-nominal methane temperatures before stepping into methane load. The IM-1 mission Nova-C lunar lander was scheduled to lift off aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket at 12:57 a.m. EST on Wednesday, February 14.

The companies are now targeting 1:05 a.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 15 for the mission's launch from Launch Complex 39A at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

This will be the 18th flight of the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting the IM-1 mission, which previously launched GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, Intelsat G-33/G-34, Transporter-6, and 12 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the rocket's first stage will make a precise landing on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Standing down from tonight’s attempt due to off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load. Now targeting Thursday, February 15 at 1:05 a.m. ET for Falcon 9's launch of the @Int_Machines IM-1 mission from Florida → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 14, 2024

IM-1 is Intuitive Machines' first attempted lunar landing as part of NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The company is targeting Thursday, February 22, for the landing of the Nova-C lander near the south pole of the Moon. The lander will carry NASA science instruments focusing on plume-surface interactions, space weather/lunar surface interactions, radio astronomy, precision landing technologies, and a communication and navigation node for future autonomous navigation technologies.

Update 1

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Intuitive Machines’ Nova-C lunar lander lifted off at 1:05 a.m. EST from Florida.

Update 2

The Nova-C lander carrying NASA science and technology demonstrations is now on its way to the Moon.