NASA confirms Odysseus TIPPED OVER on the moon

“NASA has confirmed that the first private owned spacecraft to land on the moon has 'tipped over on its side' - but is 'alive and well.'

Intuitive Machines had previously received data that its $118 million Odysseus was standing with its six feet on the ground, but updates reveled the lander is laying on the lunar landscape.

The company noted one of the legs became caught, causing it to fall onto its side - just one day after a white-knuckle touchdown that was confirmed as a soft landing.

CEO Steve Altemus explained he and his team were not deliberately misleading the public when they shared on X about America's return to the lunar surface - they were just 'working with old telemetry.' …”

DailyMail article:
https://mol.im/a/13119819 or

^^^That’s not SpaceX and probably belongs in this thread: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...935/m/2580009605/p/1.

I'm disappointed that more footage from the ground isn't possible with all the advancements in drone technology. The channel I was watching had three views of the empty pad with one view of the rocket ascending through overcast.

That booster loss sucked with it being so close to returning but perhaps those grid fins are too large and exert too much directional change?

Congrats to Space X on their successful Starship flight today.

Not quite on par with landing two boosters simultaneously (still one of the most amazing things I've ever seen), but holy cow does SapceX make this look easy.

President Trump should simply fire everyone at NASA and outsource the entire extraterrestrial enterprise to Space X.

Why do they have to catch it?

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:
Why do they have to catch it?

Saving weight by eliminating the landing leg system.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
President Trump should simply fire everyone at NASA and outsource the entire extraterrestrial enterprise to Space X.

Probably why NASA is pushing so hard to support Boeing and Starliner. They're worried about their jobs and are getting desperate to "keep things the way they've always been".

Guess they’e still mad Musk is moving headquarters

California officials cite Elon Musk’s politics in rejecting SpaceX launches

https://www.politico.com/news/...musk-spacex-00183371

quote:

Originally posted by Tn226:
Guess they’e still mad Musk is moving headquarters

California officials cite Elon Musk’s politics in rejecting SpaceX launches

https://www.politico.com/news/...musk-spacex-00183371

Interesting.

Now Mr. Musk can sue the Commieision for violating his rights under the first amendment.

It's not clear from what I've read that the Coastal Commission's decision is binding. The Space Force wants to have the SpaceX launches considered military so they don't come under the jurisdiction of the Coastal Commission. It's not clear to me where this is going from here.

I watched the (recorded) video of the Starship launch and the Superheavy booster being caught by the tower. It's hard to appreciate the pace at which historic progress in space flight is being made by SpaceX.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
President Trump should simply fire everyone at NASA and outsource the entire extraterrestrial enterprise to Space X.

Probably why NASA is pushing so hard to support Boeing and Starliner. They're worried about their jobs and are getting desperate to "keep things the way they've always been".

I work for another large defense contractor (Space division) and there’s a definite sense of panic coming from the top that SpaceX is going to pass us because they’re way more innovative and more importantly faster at getting things done. They keep pushing us to become more like them without coming out and saying it directly.

The vertical landing of the Falcon Booster is science fiction in my lifetime.

Catching the Super Heavy Booster wasn't even dreamed of and it's a reality today. Soon to be common place.

In a few short years we’ll have Humans on Mars. I never expected that in my lifetime and eagerly await the day.

It’s spectacular to see the status quo disrupted like this.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:


Not quite on par with landing two boosters simultaneously (still one of the most amazing things I've ever seen), but holy cow does SapceX make this look easy.

President Trump should simply fire everyone at NASA and outsource the entire extraterrestrial enterprise to Space X.

That's just showing off.

At this point as an administrative organization it appears that NASA has worked its way into obsolescence

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
At this point as an administrative organization it appears that NASA has worked its way into obsolescence

Yep. Looks like they'll be moved into a "FAA" type role in the future which probably should have happened years ago.

Video shown in pre-launch period says they plan to turn out HUNDREDS of Starships per year when fully operational.
How can they afford this?

Starlink subscriptions and falcon 9 launches are paying. Future flights with this heavy booster will more then pay back the initial start up cost. This thing will lift more than anything else ever designed!

They have a regular assembly line and as an example the motors on the stabilizer fins are electro motors from the Tesla cars.

The same size as Saturn V but twice the thrust. This bad boy is reusable and there is 0 loss of transport time by bringing it back to the pad. Totally amazing. I woke the kids up to watch it and it was simply exhilarating. As I understand it, the landed with far more fuel than they anticipated, that later transfers to more payload. They are going to make a lot of money with that bad boy.

Congrats!