US company’s lunar lander rockets toward the moon for a touchdown attempt next week

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Another private U.S. company is taking a shot at the moon, launching a month after a rival’s lunar lander missed its mark. SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasted off in the wee hours of Thursday from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. It sent Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander on its way to the moon, a quick one-week trip that should result in a touchdown attempt next week If successful, it would be the first U.S. moon landing in more than 50 years. NASA has experiments on board and is seeking to jumpstart the lunar economy ahead of astronaut missions later this decade.