Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998 | 1 | 0 |
| 1999 | 3 | 0 |
| 2001 | 1 | 0 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No performance specsNo structured payload capacity rows are linked to this vehicle family. | |||||
Latest launched missions using variants in this family.
| Mission | Variant | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| Kodiak Star | Athena-1 | Sep 30, 2001 |
| Ikonos-2 | Athena-2 | Sep 24, 1999 |
| Launch 1999-F01 | Athena-2 | Apr 27, 1999 |
| ROCSAT |
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Athena-1 | Not stated | 2 | Retired |
Athena-2 | Not stated | 3 | Retired |
LMLV-1 | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Athena-1 |
| Jan 27, 1999 |
| Lunar Prospector Mission | Athena-2 | Jan 7, 1998 |
| Lewis Mission | LMLV-1 | Aug 23, 1997 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
Jared Isaacman confirmed he is the sole author of Project Athena, a document detailing proposed changes to NASA.
Jared Isaacman intends for Project Athena to be refined with more data.
Isaacman produced a report titled 'Project Athena,' outlining his plans for NASA during his time of initial nomination.
The content of the 'Project Athena' report included proposals for commercial data buys and consolidation of various programs.
Isaacman clarified that 'Project Athena' intended to enhance Earth science missions, not to eliminate significant existing programs.
Isaacman released a 62-page memo titled 'Athena' outlining his priorities for NASA during his confirmation process.
Ienai Space's first product line is the Athena electric propulsion system, which accelerates ions from a liquid salt.
The Athena system is efficient, modular, and adaptable to different satellite platforms.
The Athena system was certified by the European Space Agency (ESA) one year after its successful test.
The Athena system was successfully tested in 2022 as the thruster for two small satellites from Hydra Space Systems aboard Firefly's Alpha microlauncher.
Intuitive Machines is planning two lunar landing missions, IM-1 (Odysseus) in 2024 and IM-2 (Athena) in March 2025, with both landers expected to land but then tip over.
In 2017, Russians intercepted secure communications of the Franco-Italian satellite Athena Fidus.
Three of the ESA-led missions face problems due to NASA's budget proposal: the Envision mission to Venus, the LISA gravitational wave observatory, and the New Athena X-ray telescope.
Intuitive Machines’ second CLPS lander, Athena (IM-2), landed near 85°S on March 6, 2024, and came to rest on its side inside a shadowed crater.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera team concluded that Athena hit the surface faster than intended.
Athena skidded and rotated along the ground after impact, accumulating regolith over itself and its solar panels before coming to rest in a crater with temperatures as cold as -173°C.
YAOKI, the small rover hosted on Athena by Japanese company Dymon, could not be deployed but captured images from its hosted position that suggest a lander leg may have broken off.
Athena was unable to generate sufficient solar power in its shadowed position and ceased operations without completing the majority of its mission objectives.
Athena was unable to generate enough solar power for a single Earth day and ceased operations before deploying any payloads.
Intuitive Machines' Athena lander reached the surface of the Moon on the IM-2 mission in March 2025.