SSLC to Support NASA Moon Base Initiative with PRESSURMAXX® Type V Tanks on IM 3 and IM 4 lunar missions

Intuitive Machines’ additional tank orders confirming the cryogenic propellant storage system as the baseline lander design.

TORRANCE, CA, UNITED STATES, August 27, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ —
The Scorpius Space Launch Company (SSLC) today announced that Intuitive Machines has placed a additional orders for SSLC’s flight-qualified PRESSURMAXX^® all-composite Type V cryogenic propellant tanks, extending a partnership that has supplied every Intuitive Machines lunar lander flown to date. The newly ordered tank systems will support the upcoming IM-3 and IM-4 lunar missions, continuing SSLC’s role as propellant tank supplier for Intuitive Machines’ expanding cadence of Moon deliveries under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program — now a core pillar of NASA’s broader Moon Base initiative.

A Proven Flight Heritage
SSLC’s liner-less, all-carbon-composite Type V tanks have flown on every Intuitive Machines Nova-C lunar lander mission to date, storing and managing the liquid oxygen and liquid methane propellants that power the company’s clean-burning engines. The tanks first reached the Moon aboard IM-1 in February 2024 — the first commercial spacecraft ever to soft-land on the lunar surface — and flew again on IM-2 in March 2025. Both missions validated PRESSURMAXX^® tanks at Technology Readiness Level 9 (TRL-9), the highest level achievable, making them the first flight-qualified cryogenic Type V composite tanks to operate beyond the Van Allen belt and land on the Moon.
That flight heritage will extend further with IM-3, targeted to launch in early 2027 to the Reiner Gamma lunar swirl, and now with the newly ordered tank sets for IM-4 and IM-5, keeping SSLC’s technology at the center of Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander program as it scales toward a sustained cadence of Moon missions.

Supporting NASA’s Moon Base Initiative
Intuitive Machines’ CLPS missions are increasingly framed by NASA as a proving ground for its Moon Base initiative — the agency’s phased effort, announced in 2026, to establish sustained robotic and human operations near the lunar South Pole. As Intuitive Machines’ mission cadence accelerates to support that goal, SSLC’s role as a trusted supplier of lightweight, high-performance cryogenic propellant tanks positions the company as a continuing contributor to NASA’s long-term lunar exploration objectives.

“Supporting IM’s propulsion architecture with reliable, high performing cryogenic tank systems remains one of our proudest contributions to modern lunar exploration” said Markus Rufer, CEO, of Scorpius Space Launch Company. “This is a key enabling technology that makes Liquid Methane / Liquid Oxygen propulsion a compelling choice for clean propulsion in space”.

About PRESSURMAXX^® Type V Tanks
SSLC’s PRESSURMAXX^® tanks are liner-less, all-composite Type V pressure vessels built using a unibody construction method that eliminates the weight penalty of traditional metallic-lined tanks. Qualified for cryogenic temperatures as low as -196°C and pressures up to 552 bar, the tanks allow Intuitive Machines to devote more of its lander’s mass budget to payload — a critical advantage as missions scale toward larger cargo deliveries in support of NASA’s Artemis campaign and Moon Base buildout.

About Scorpius Space Launch Company
Scorpius Space Launch Company (SSLC), based in Torrance, California, designs and manufactures all-composite, high-pressure cryogenic tanks and pressure vessels for spaceflight and commercial applications. SSLC’s PRESSURMAXX^® tanks have flown on every Intuitive Machines lunar lander mission to date, and the company continues to develop advanced composite pressure vessel technology for a new generation of space exploration.

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Written By: EIN Presswire