A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket raises off on the IM-1 objective with the Nova-C moon lander developed and owned by Intuitive Machines from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Thursday. (Photo: Reuters) CAPE CANAVERAL – A moon lander developed by Houston-based aerospace business Intuitive Machines was released from Florida early on Thursday on a objective to conduct the veryfirst United States lunar goal in more than a half century and the veryfirst by a independently owned spacecraft. The business’s Nova-C lander, called Odysseus, raised off quickly after 1am EST (0600 GMT) atop a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket flown by Elon Musk’ SpaceX from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (Nasa) Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. A live Nasa-SpaceX online video feed revealed the two-stage, 25-story rocket roaring off the launch pad and spotting into the dark sky over Florida’s Atlantic coast, routed by a intense yellow-colored plume of exhaust. About 48 minutes after launch, the six-legged lander was revealed being launched from Falcon 9’s upper phase about 139 miles (223 kilometres) above Earth and wandering away on its trip to the moon. “IM-1 Odysseus lunar lander separation verified,” a objective controller was heard stating. Moments lateron, objective operations in Houston got its veryfirst radio signals from Odysseus as the lander started an automated procedure of powering on its systems and orienting itself in area, according to webcast analysts. Although thoughtabout an Intuitive Machines objective, the IM-1 flight is bring 6 Nasa payloads of instruments created to collect information about the lunar environment ahead of Nasa’s prepared return of astronauts to the moon lateron this years. Thursday’s launch came a mont
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