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. | ||
Intuitive Machines' second CLPS lander Athena (IM-2) landed near the Moon's south pole around 85°S on March 6 and came to rest on its side inside a cold crater.
The Athena lander was unable to generate enough power to operate its payloads and stay warm due to being on its side in a shaded crater.
The Honeybee-Robotics-developed PRIME-1 drill on Athena demonstrated its full range of motion but could not drill because Athena was lying sideways.
Non-NASA payloads on Athena, including a multi-million-dollar rover from Lunar Outpost and Dymon’s tiny rover, incurred their own development losses when Athena failed.
Athena's MSOLO spectrometer detected elements likely from the lander's propulsion system rather than water ice in drilled samples.
NASA-funded Lunar Trailblazer launched as a rideshare alongside Athena on February 26.
Athena’s payloads include a NASA-funded drill and spectrometer, a rover from Lunar Outpost, a rover from Japan-based Dymon, a NASA-funded hopper from Intuitive Machines, and a retroreflector.
Athena will attempt a lunar landing near 85°S around March 6.
Athena performed a 492-second main engine burn on March 3 to insert itself into lunar orbit.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission carrying the Athena lander on February 26.
The lander Athena is scheduled to land near the Moon's South Pole in one week.
The lander Athena of the IM-2 mission is set to search for water ice near Mons Mouton in the Moon's southern polar region.
Ienai Space has raised about seven million euros in total to help develop ATHENA, or Adaptable THruster based on Electrospray for NAnosatellite.
Red Cat's hardware and software partners include Sentien Robotics, Ocean Power Technologies, Primordial Labs, Tomahawk Robotics, Athena AI, Teledyne FLIR, Reveal Technology, Immervision, and Doodle Labs.
The micro-fabricated ATHENA system allows for highly customizable thrust using non-toxic 'green' propellants without the need for pressurized tanks.
ATHENA relies on conductive ionic-liquid salts as fuel.
A total of six ATHENA thrusters can fit onto the 10 cm face of a single CubeSat unit.
ATHENA (Adaptable THruster based on Electrospray powered by Nanotechnology) is one of three electrospray propulsion systems currently being developed by ESA.
The ATHENA project has passed its Preliminary Design Review and is targeting a final product by the end of next year.
Development of ATHENA has been supported through ESA's General Support Technology Programme.