Nova-C IM-2 & Others

Mission

Nova-C IM-2 & Others on Falcon 9 Block 5. Thu 27 Feb 2025, 00:16:30 UTC. Reported outcome: Success. Launch site: Launch Complex 39A. Source: Launch Library 2.

This is the second mission of Nova-C lunar lander developed and built by Intuitive Machines. This time it carries a NASA payload called PRIME-1 (Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1), which is to be the first demonstration of in-situ resource utilization on the Moon. PRIME-1 consists of two instruments: TRIDENT drill and Msolo mass spectrometer. Also on board are: * Lunar Trailblazer, a small (class D) lunar orbiter, part of NASA's SIMPLEx program, that will detect and map water on the lunar surface to determine how its form, abundance, and location relate to geology. Its mission is to aid in the understanding of lunar water and the Moon's water cycle. * Odin, a spacecraft for AstroForge, a company that plans to mine asteroid resources. Odin intends to head into deep space to observe near-Earth asteroid 2022 OB5 in preparation for their first retrieval mission. Odin will fly by the asteroid at a distance of about 1 kilometer, arriving 11 months after launch. * CHIMERA GEO 1, a transfer spacecraft by Epic Aerospace to a geostationary orbit, with the aim of covering an orbital position. For this launch, CHIMERA-GEO is carrying an unidentified 16U cubesat manifested by Exolaunch.

Mission type

Lunar Exploration

Orbit

Lunar Orbit

Rocket file imagery

Launch timeline

Times are relative to liftoff.

1. T-38 minThu 27 Feb, 00:38 CET

   GO for Prop Load

   Launch director verifies go for propellant load

2. T-35 minThu 27 Feb, 00:41 CET

   Stage 1 LOX Load

   Start of liquid oxygen loading in the first stage

3. T-35 minThu 27 Feb, 00:41 CET

   Prop Load

   Start of propelland loading

4. T-16 minThu 27 Feb, 01:00 CET

   Stage 2 LOX Load

   Start of liquid oxygen loading in the second stage

5. T-7 minThu 27 Feb, 01:09 CET

   Engine Chill

   Start of engine chilling

6. T-1 minThu 27 Feb, 01:15 CET

   Tank Press

   Fuel tanks are pressurized to flight levels

7. T-1 minThu 27 Feb, 01:15 CET

   Startup

   The onboard computer takes control over the countdown and runs last checks

8. T-45 sThu 27 Feb, 01:15 CET

   GO for Launch

   Launch director verifies go for launch

9. T-3 sThu 27 Feb, 01:16 CET

   Ignition

   Start of the engine ignition sequence

10. T-0Thu 27 Feb, 01:16 CET

    Liftoff

    First upwards movement of the rocket

11. T+1 min 18 sThu 27 Feb, 01:17 CET

    Max-Q

    Maximum dynamic pressure

12. T+2 min 30 sThu 27 Feb, 01:19 CET

    MECO

    Cut-off of the main engine

13. T+2 min 34 sThu 27 Feb, 01:19 CET

    Stage 2 Separation

    Separation of the second stage from the first

14. T+2 min 42 sThu 27 Feb, 01:19 CET

    SES-1

    First start of the second engine

15. T+3 min 27 sThu 27 Feb, 01:19 CET

    Fairing Separation

    Separation of the payload fairing

16. T+6 min 15 sThu 27 Feb, 01:22 CET

    Entry Burn Startup

    Start of the atmospheric entry burn

17. T+6 min 41 sThu 27 Feb, 01:23 CET

    Entry Burn Shutdown

    End of the atmospheric entry burn

18. T+7 min 55 sThu 27 Feb, 01:24 CET

    SECO-1

    First cut-off of the second engine

19. T+8 min 1 sThu 27 Feb, 01:24 CET

    Stage 1 Landing Burn

    Start of the first stage landing burn

20. T+8 min 31 sThu 27 Feb, 01:25 CET

    Stage 1 Landing

    Landing of the first stage

21. T+36 min 25 sThu 27 Feb, 01:52 CET

    SES-2

    Second start of the second engine

22. T+37 min 26 sThu 27 Feb, 01:53 CET

    SECO-2

    Second cut-off of the second engine

23. T+43 min 38 sThu 27 Feb, 02:00 CET

    Payload Separation

    Final deployment of the payload from the rocket

24. T+47 min 28 sThu 27 Feb, 02:03 CET

    Payload Separation

    Final deployment of the payload from the rocket

25. T+47 min 48 sThu 27 Feb, 02:04 CET

    Payload Separation

    Final deployment of the payload from the rocket

26. T+48 min 8 sThu 27 Feb, 02:04 CET

    Payload Separation

    Final deployment of the payload from the rocket

Slip history

Changes recorded by Space Right Now

No changes since we started tracking on Sat 10 Oct 2026, 11:14 UTC.

Launch pad

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA (US)

Coordinates: 28.60822681, -80.60428186