by Intuitive Machines (LUNR) made history in February when it became the first private space company to touch the surface of the moon.
Now, he wants to accelerate the development of the lunar economy.
Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Intuitive Machines CEO and co-founder Steve Altemus said the company’s cost structure and ability to streamline lunar missions are ultimately putting them in the driver’s seat in a global race to develop the moon.
“We designed and developed a mission to the moon at a price point of about $118 million and we did it in about four years,” Altemus said. “We completely disrupted the industry in terms of the economics of flying to the moon.”
In its inaugural IM-1 mission, Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lunar lander successfully reached the lunar surface in February, but its mission faced serious challenges a week after the vehicle fell on its side during landing. That cut short the entire Intuitive Machines mission, although NASA’s onboard research equipment managed to send back data from its experiments.
Intuitive Machines is now looking forward to its second lunar mission, IM-2, which is scheduled for November. Altemus said the company did a 30-day review of its first mission to improve its technology for the second round.
“We can improve our landing capability by 20 times with precision,” Altemus said. “The south pole [of the moon] asking for that. That’s what we always do – refine to that pen accuracy.”
Intuitive Machines is among a handful of private startups developing a low-cost transportation system to the moon with funding from NASA. The agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program has set aside $2.6 billion for more than a dozen companies to transport NASA research to the lunar surface along with payloads for commercial customers.
The missions are laying the groundwork for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon. The first crewed mission under Artemis has been delayed until 2025 while Lockheed Martin (LMT), the prime contractor, develops the Orion spacecraft that will carry the astronauts.
Meanwhile, Intuitive Machines are capable of end-to-end operations between Earth and the moon, strategically placing bets on the critical infrastructure needed to enable longer periods on the lunar surface .
The company recently won a $30 million contract from NASA to develop a lunar terrain vehicle that will place Artemis astronauts around the moon. Intuitive Machines has also developed the Lunar Data Network which enables communication and data relay services for spacecraft.
“As a company, our vision is to deliver space systems to the surface with our lander family for command and control and navigation around the moon to enable surface operations,” said Altemus. “I believe Intuitive Machines is the only company that has all three.”
NASA estimates that human activity in the region of space between the Earth and the moon will surpass all activity since 1957 in the next ten years alone. That potential prompted the White House to develop its first science and technology strategy to “support responsible, peaceful and sustainable exploration.”
The relative success of its first missions provided a lift for Intuitive Machines. The company’s cash balance increased to $54.6 million in the first three months of the year after an institutional investor exercised warrants. The company also raised $10 million through equity and said it had “sufficient capital for the short term.”
Intuitive Machines stock is up about 138% year to date. But the company, which came to the public markets through a SPAC, is more vulnerable to big swings in any perceived risks compared to competitors who chose to stay private.
“When you go de-SPAC, there’s a lot of volatility in your stock as you move from maybe retail investors to more institutional investors,” Altemus said. “So as the company matures, I see more investment coming in from institutional investors, which should provide some stability for the stock over the long term.”
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