Intuitive Machines Builds Platform for NASA Radar Satellite
The third NASA award in six months extends the company's commercial model from lunar landers toward Earth observation, with launch targeted for 2029.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Space
Intuitive Machines will supply its IM 300 spacecraft platform and system integration for NASA's Falcon-Radar, an Earth observation satellite, according to the company's announcement on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Financial terms were not disclosed; the development is announced, not yet launched.
Why it matters
The award is Intuitive Machines' third NASA contract in six months, extending its push from lunar landers into Earth science and deep-space platforms. It signals that the company's modular spacecraft bus is being adopted beyond its lunar lander line.
The IM 300 is the spacecraft platform Intuitive Machines will supply for Falcon-Radar, which will use radar to study clouds, light rainfall, and atmospheric conditions. The company reported a contracted backlog of roughly $1.8 billion at the end of Q2, compared with $213 million at the end of 2025, but no performance benchmarks for the platform were given. Falcon-Radar's contract value and its on-orbit performance figures remain undisclosed.
The players
Intuitive Machines (LUNR)
A Houston-based space company building the IM 300 spacecraft platform and Nova-C lunar landers, with a growing NASA contract portfolio.
NASA
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which awarded the Falcon-Radar and Nova-C contracts.
The details
Intuitive Machines will build the spacecraft bus, known as the IM 300 platform, and handle system integration, meaning it will assemble the platform with the radar instrument and other subsystems into a flight-ready satellite. Falcon-Radar uses radar, which sends radio waves toward the ground and measures what returns, to observe clouds, light rain, and atmospheric conditions from orbit. The same radar approach could later support moon and Mars missions, though that application is a projection rather than a planned objective.
Timeline
August: NASA selected Intuitive Machines to provide its IM 300 platform for the EAGLE-VSWIR satellite.
June: NASA awarded a contract worth up to $148.3 million to deliver a Nova-C lunar lander by 2028.
Tuesday, November 3, 2026: The Falcon-Radar contract was announced.
November 12, 2026: Intuitive Machines is scheduled to report Q3 results.
The Tech Race
NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program pioneered buying lunar delivery from private firms, and Intuitive Machines is now applying that model to an Earth-observation satellite. The win places the company against other commercial spacecraft builders competing for NASA's shrinking pool of science-mission contracts.
The Falcon-Radar satellite is not expected to launch until 2029 at the earliest, so its atmospheric data will not reach users for years. For now, the practical effect is on NASA's budget and on the company's revenue pipeline rather than on anyone's daily weather information.
The takeaway
Watch the November 12 Q3 report for whether Intuitive Machines converts its roughly $1.8 billion backlog into revenue on schedule. A launch date or a disclosed Falcon-Radar contract value would be the next verifiable milestones.
What happens next
Intuitive Machines is scheduled to report its Q3 results on November 12, 2026, when investors will likely get an update on the Falcon-Radar award and its backlog.
Further reading
For more on how commercial firms are reshaping American space programs, see Space coverage.
