Private moon lander lifts off aiming for first US lunar touchdown in 52 years
by Richard Luscombe in Miami from Science | The Guardian on (#6JN2Z)
Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander sets off on SpaceX rocket from Cape Canaveral on weeklong journey
A solar-powered lunar lander designed by a former Nasa engineer who became frustrated by the space agency's bureaucracy lifted off from Florida early on Thursday on a mission to become the first private spacecraft to achieve a controlled moon landing.
Odysseus, the working name for the uncrewed Nova-C lander built by the Houston-based aerospace company Intuitive Machines, lit up the skies above Cape Canaveral shortly after 1am on a Falcon 9 rocket from Elon Musk's SpaceX company.
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