Photo from the launch of IM-1 Nova-C ‘Odysseus’. Guess where I’m going after 52 years. I’m Back
Mission Rundown: SpaceX Falcon 9 - IM-1 Nova-C
Written: February 15, 2024
Going back to the Moon
Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander, Nova-C, performs the IM-1 mission in the frame of a CLPS NASA contract. It launches aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, lifting off from LC-39A.
Once the lander is deployed from the launch vehicle, it will find itself in an orbit known as trans-lunar injection (TLI). That is, its trajectory will take it to the Moon, though some fine-tuning burns are expected.
After several days journeying through space, its lunar orbit insertion should take place. Afterward, the itinerary includes its descent onto the surface, where it will carry out many observations during seven days, hopefully more.
The RTLS flight profile of the Falcon 9 with IM-1 Nova-C is seen here without the fairing landing site
Lift Off took place Wednesday, February 15, 2024 at 01:05 ET ─ 06:05 UTC from historic Launch Complex 39A at John F. Kennedy Space Center.
The Falcon 9 rocket will be composed of booster B1060-18, its 308th second stage and old reused fairings containing the lunar lander weighing in at 1931 Kg.
The Falcon 9 didn’t perform a static fire test of the engines. This has been omitted many times due to Falcon 9’s increasing reliability. Only after engine swabs and issues with the importance of the payload does a static fire test become necessary.
B1060-18 will have made its eighteenth flight after launching its next mission:
After separating from the second stage, the booster B1060-18 will return to Landing Zone LZ-1 located 14.8 km from the launch site.
After refurbishment of the booster, it will be designated as B1060-19. The second stage will after payload deployment become space debris - be deorbited in the South - North Indian/Pacific Ocean south of Cape Town - Australia - east of Hawaii a couple of hours after the launch.
One fairing are reused, the other is new with Methane Lox fuel pipes installed and flying with no precise number of flights and only this mission flying together. Bob will recover them 595 km downrange.
The ‘Odysseus’ payload
Belonging to the CLPS initiative, Intuitive Machines mission 1, or IM-1 for short, represents many potential and actual firsts for this kind of mission.
First, it showcases the maiden flight of the company’s lunar lander: Nova-C, the first such spacecraft powered by cryogenic propellants. The second key point arises from its chance to become the first US lander to softly touch down on the surface of the Moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972.
The first flight of the Houston-based firm has its lander headed toward our Moon. Known as Nova-C, this name falls under a category designation, with “Nova” meaning new, and “C” being the Roman numeral for 100.
In other words, Intuitive Machines designate their landers with a capability of transporting about 100 kg to the surface of the Moon using this naming convention. On the other hand, the specific vehicle performing this mission is named Odysseus, or Odie, inspired by the Greek epic poem, the Iliad.
Moreover, Odie’s destination on the Moon is the Malapert A crater, where it will conduct its tasks. The company expects its lander to be active for seven days, after which the lunar night will force it to shut down. If it wakes up again, it will collect more data for a short period of time. This is improbable, however, given that its design did not consider surviving said period of intense cold.
The lander measures 2.2×2.4×3.9 m (~7.2×7.9×13 ft), featuring mass at launch of 1,931 kg (~4,260 lb). However, when not considering propellants and fluids, its mass is only 655 kg (~1,440 lb). Carbon fiber and titanium are the materials used in manufacturing. These form its hexagonal structure, as well as the propellant tanks.
Its main propulsion system consists of a single VR900 engine that runs on liquid methane (LCH4) 839 kg (~1,850 lb), and liquid oxygen (LOx) 420 kg (~930 lb).
As a result, this makes Nova-C a unique case among lunar landers. In a word, never before has this kind of spacecraft implemented methalox-fed engines, or any cryogenic propellant, for that matter.
Accordingly, the lander’s tanks need to be filled just before liftoff. In turn, this requirement drove SpaceX to incorporate a new system into its transporter-erector.
In order to control Nova-C’s orientation, cold gas thrusters utilize gaseous helium (GHe) 17 kg (~37 lb) stored inside two composite tanks. The gas exits through an array of nozzles, which feature redundancy to enhance safety. Helium also serves by pressurizing both the methane and the oxygen tanks.
Nova-C generates electrical power by means of photovoltaic cells arranged in three solar panels. These consist of a large top deck panel, as well as two smaller body panels.
As a result, Odie produces a maximum of 788 W of electricity, depending on its attitude, or other factors. Given that power demand varies along the mission, three commercial off-the-shelf lithium-ion batteries store the electric excess power.
Conversely, they supply the spacecraft with power when generation dwindles, or does not match consumption. Finally, a power distribution unit manages all of these conditions.
Once the second stage of the Falcon 9 deploys the lander, its orbit will feature an apogee, the highest point of the orbit, that will allow for lunar interception.
The remaining orbital parameters include a perigee of about 185 km (~115 mi), meanwhile its inclination will be 27 degrees. Should Odysseus' thrusters or programming fail, a fly-by past the Moon will sling-shot the spacecraft into an orbit around the Sun.
The landing site for the IM-1 mission is near a crater called Malapert A, which is located in the Moon’s south pole region. This region is about 300 kilometers away from the actual south pole of the Moon. Malapert A is a smaller crater, measuring around 69 kilometers in diameter. Additionally, the nearby Malapert Massif is one of the 13 potential locations being considered for NASA’s Artemis III mission.
Interestingly, the area around the landing site is believed to be made up of lunar highland material, meaning it could provide valuable scientific information about the Moon’s composition and history.
The rocket launch
A typical Falcon 9 mission begins with the countdown that has a traditional 35-minute long propellant load sequence which begins with RP-1 (a refined form of kerosene) loading on both stages and liquid oxygen (LOX) loading on the first stage only.
Loading of RP-1 on the second stage wraps up first at the T-20 minute mark followed by the usual “T-20 minute vent” as the oxygen purging begins on the pipelines of the Falcon 9 Transporter/Erector (T/E) that supplies fluids and power to the vehicle. LOX load on the second stage begins about four minutes after that at T-16 minutes.
Engine chill commences at the T-7 minute mark with a small flow of LOX going into the turbopumps on all nine Merlin engines on the first stage. RP-1 loading on the booster then wraps up about a minute later at the T-6 minute mark.
LOX load on the first and second stages ends at around the T-3 minute and T-2 minute mark respectively, and the rocket takes control of the countdown at the T-1 minute mark.
Engine ignition is commanded at T-3 seconds allowing them to achieve maximum thrust and pass final checks before committing to launch and if engine checks look correct, the ground clamps release the rocket for liftoff at the expected T0 time.
After liftoff, Falcon 9 climbs away from the launch site, pitching downrange as it maneuvers along its pre-programmed trajectory. Approximately 72 seconds into the flight, the vehicle passes through Max-Q — the point of maximum dynamic pressure, where mechanical stresses on the rocket are the greatest.
The nine first-stage engines continue to power Falcon 9 for the first two minutes and 30 seconds of the mission, until the time of main engine cutoff (MECO), at which point all nine engines shut down nearly simultaneously.
Stage separation normally occurs 3-4 seconds later, with the ignition of the second stage’s Merlin Vacuum engine coming about seven seconds after staging.
While the second stage continues onward to orbit with its payload, the first stage coasts upward to apogee — the highest point of its trajectory — before beginning its trip back to Earth. The booster refines its course toward the landing zone before attempting to softly touch down on the deck of one of SpaceX’s three drone ships.
Two or three burns are required to secure the safe return and landing of a Falcon 9 booster depending on the chosen landing site. A boost back burn nullifies the horizontal speed from about 7000 km/h plus to a 1000 km/h negative if a return to launch site is chosen.
Normally a free fall trajectory is chosen which requires a re-entry burn designed to break the speed into the denser atmosphere. The Merlin 1D# engines start in a 1-3-1 sequence with the center engine 9 starting 4 seconds before lighting up engine 1 and 5 in a burn lasting 14-16 seconds ending with a 2 second center engine solo burn.
The re-entry burn last 20-22 seconds and the booster is now falling and steering through the denser atmosphere with the 6x8 feet grid fins. A last landing burn performed by the Merlin 1D# center engine is timed to the last millisecond securing the aiming and breaking of the boosters speed. Booster landings have been performed over 270 times.
Using a drone ship for booster recovery allows SpaceX to launch more mass in a payload on Falcon 9 than it would be able to launch on a return-to-launch-site mission.
In the meantime, the second stage carries on with the primary mission. After stage separation and Merlin Vacuum engine ignition, the payload fairing halves are jettisoned, thereby exposing the satellites to space.
Much akin to the Falcon 9 first stage, the fairing halves can be recovered and reused, using a system of thrusters and parachutes to make a controlled descent into the ocean where they will be picked up by a recovery vessel.
Second-stage engine cutoff (SECO-1) takes place just over eight and a half minutes into the flight. Other engine burns to modify or increase the deployment orbit will follow if the mission requires it, such as on this commercial mission which used a second burn before deploying the Lunar Lander.
The Lunar Lander will be deployed into a lunar transfer insertion orbit.
After spacecraft separation, the second stage will, if it’s still in low earth orbit, perform a deorbit burn for proper disposal, ensuring that reentry takes place in the south Pacific or Indian Ocean. Second stages in high geostationary transfer or geostationary insertion orbits - GTO and GEO - will become one of now 40 pieces of derelict space debris.
When the second stage comes in contact with ground control station in either Hawthorne, California or Boca Chica, Texas after one orbit. The deorbit burn and a blow out command is given simultaneously to brake and empty the propellant tanks. 40-45 minutes later the second stage re-enters and crashes into the Ocean.
The rocket vehicle
The Falcon 9 Block 5 is SpaceX’s partially reusable two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle. The vehicle consists of a reusable first stage, an expendable second stage, and, when in payload configuration, a pair of reusable fairing halves.
The Falcon 9 first stage contains 9 Merlin 1D# sea level engines. Each engine uses an open gas generator cycle and runs on RP-1 and liquid oxygen (LOx). Each engine produces 845 kN of thrust at sea level, with a specific impulse (ISP) of 285 seconds, and 934 kN in a vacuum with an ISP of 313 seconds.
Due to the powerful nature of the engine, and the large amount of them, the Falcon 9 first stage is able to lose an engine right off the pad, or up to two later in flight, and be able to successfully place the payload into orbit.
The Merlin engines are ignited by triethylaluminum and triethylborane (TEA-TEB), which instantaneously burst into flames when mixed in the presence of oxygen. During static fire and launch the TEA-TEB is provided by the ground service equipment. However, as the Falcon 9 first stage is able to propulsively land, three of the Merlin engines (E1, E5, and E9) contain TEA-TEB canisters to relight for the boost back, reentry, and landing burns.
The Falcon 9 second stage is the only expendable part of the Falcon 9. It contains a singular MVacD engine that produces 992 kN of thrust and an ISP of 348 seconds. The Falcon 9 can put some or many payloads in different orbits on missions with many burns and/or long coasts between burns, the second stage is able to be equipped with a mission extension package.
When the second stage has this mission extension package it has a gray strip, which helps keep the RP-1 warm in sunlight, an increased number of composite-overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) for pressurization control, and additional TEA-TEB.
SpaceX is the first entity ever that recovers and reflies its fairings. After being jettisoned, the two fairing halves will use cold gas thrusters to orientate themselves as they descend through the atmosphere. Once at a lower altitude, they will deploy drogue chutes and parafoils to help them glide down to a soft landing for recovery.
The Falcon 9’s fairing consists of two dissimilar reusable halves. The first half (the half that faces away from the transport erector) is called the active half, and houses the pneumatics for the separation system. The other fairing half is called the passive half.
Comparison of Type 1 and 2 with measurements based on pixels - Type 2 are 5-6 inches thicker
As the name implies, this half plays a purely passive role in the fairing separation process, as it relies on the pneumatics from the active half.
SpaceX used boats with giant suspended nets to attempt to catch the fairing halves, however, at the end of 2020 this program was canceled due to safety risks and a low success rate. On this mission, SpaceX will attempt to recover the fairing halves from the water with the recovery vessels Go Beyond, Bob or Doug.
There are three known types of 34 x 17 foot fairings used by SpaceX to protect payload during ascent through the atmosphere. The first type had 10 evenly spaced ventilation ports in a circle on the bottom part of the fairings. This type was not aerodynamic enough to carry a parachute and ACS - Attitude Control System.
The aerodynamic balance during descent must have made them prone to stalling, or they burned up too easily. ACS gas tanks, flight orientation computers and ACS thrusters must have helped with these problems during development of type 2 fairings.
The second type is a slightly thicker fairing with only 8 evenly spaced ventilation ports in a circle on the bottom part of the fairings. The ventilation ports release the pressurized Nitrox gas during ascent, but let seawater in which makes it harder to refurbish the fairings after recovery from the ocean.
In 2021, SpaceX started flying a new “upgraded” version of the Falcon 9 fairing. The third type has 8 ventilation ports in pair’s near the edge of the fairings.
Some old type 2 fairings have been rebuilt and reused in Starlink launches. That have been a test program to develop the type 3 fairings to prevent saltwater from the ocean from flooding and sinking the fairing, and makes refurbishment toward the next flight easier.
Lately it’s apparent that the fairings are actively aiming for the droneship in order to speed up the recovery process and cut corners of the time table. The fairings are breaking their speed during reentry and before deploying the parachute at altitude or the last moment.
Another solution is a ‘vertical’ boost lifting the fairings apogee so the ballistic trajectory is changed aiming for a landing nearer the droneship. It’s equivalent to raising the angle on a water hose giving the water stream an higher arc but giving it a shorter reach.
It’s not clear whether or not the cold gas nitrogen thrusters alone are capable of doing a ‘boost back’ or a ‘push up’ so the fairings can alter their forward momentum mid-flight. Every landing within 50 km of the ASDS seems to be an aimed fairing landing.
The mission won’t be utilizing this ‘push up’ fairing recovery program, which seems not to be in use anymore due to the danger of a wayward fairing half landing to close.
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