Intuitive Machines, Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to the Intuitive Machines third quarter 2024 conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1-1 on your telephone. You will then hear an automated message advising you that your hand is raised. To withdraw your question, please press star 1-1 again. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Stephen Zeng, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Good morning. Welcome to the Intuitive Machines third quarter 2024 earnings call. Chief Executive Officer Steve Altomus and Chief Financial Officer Pete McGrath are leading the call today. Before we begin, please note that some of the information discussed during today's call will consist of forward-looking statements setting forth our current expectations with respect to the future of our business, the economy, and other events. The company's actual results could differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statements due to many factors. These factors are described under forward-looking statements in the company's earnings press release and the company's most recent 10-K and 10-Q filed with the SEC. We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. We also expect to discuss certain financial measures and information that are non-GAAP measures as defined in the applicable SEC rules and regulations. Reconciliations to the company's GAAP measures are included in the earnings release filed on Form 8-K. Finally, we posted an earnings call presentation to our website, which provides additional context on our operational and financial performance. You can find this presentation on our investor relations page at www.intuitivemachines.com slash investors. Now I'll turn the call over to Steve Altomus.

Thanks, Stephen, and welcome to everyone joining us this morning. Intuitive Machines had a very strong third quarter. highlighted by key awards, revenue growth, and we closed the quarter with record highs in both cash and backlog, validating our upward trajectory. Q3 revenue was 58.5 million, over four times our Q3 sales last year. Our cash balance at the end of Q3 reached 89.6 million. This strong cash position, combined with zero debt, provides ample liquidity as we continue our blueprint to commercialize the moon. Our backlog also hit a company record at $316.2 million, primarily driven by lunar surface delivery missions and the first task order for the near-space network services contract. Throughout the quarter, we continued to focus on our three core service pillars, delivery, data transmission, and infrastructure as services. These pillars provide foundational capabilities that enable the missions and goals of commercial and government exploration of the moon. We made progress across all three pillars by first securing another South Pole lunar delivery mission, then winning the near-space network services contract, and finally continuing to mature both our LTV lunar terrain vehicle design in conjunction with our heavy cargo class lander. These strategic revenue streams bring our business thesis clearly into view, allowing us to focus on capturing more operational services, which we believe will provide long-tail revenues with higher margins. As we look forward to executing on these strategic advances, we appointed Pete McGrath as our chief financial officer. Previously our chief operating officer, Pete brings 35 years of aerospace and financial expertise to the team. His unique experiences tightly align the company's financial strategy with the operational demands of executing large-scale complex programs. It's great to have you on the call, Pete. Thanks, Steve. Now, moving on to data transmission services and the NSNS contract, and in line with our growing momentum, we captured the Near Space Network Services contract in September, which marked a transformative step for intuitive machines in data transmission and for in-space communications and navigation. As the sole awardee, the contract is valued up to $4.82 billion over the next decade. We intend to leverage our already contracted delivery missions to deploy a constellation of lunar data relay satellites around the moon. This lunar constellation is central to our strategy to commercialize the moon, supporting both commercial ventures and the Artemis Campaign's goal of sustained human lunar presence. This contract introduces a pay-by-the-minute service model focused on scalable data transmission services. This is significant in that we believe it boosts margin potential through its software-as-a-service-like revenue model. We're able to incorporate communications satellite deliveries with each lunar lander mission at a marginal cost due to extra performance on the booster, resulting in significant cost savings. As such, we intend to deploy the first of five lunar data relay satellites on our third contracted surface delivery mission. This deployment enables an initial operational capability that allows NASA to initiate pay-by-the-minute services. Two additional satellites are slated for delivery on our fourth surface delivery mission, awarded in September, followed by two final satellite deployments to complete the constellation. For the lunar missions themselves, our next surface delivery mission, IM-2, we completed a propulsion system hot fire test on the vehicle, representing the most complex integrated test of the lander thus far, in preparation for a mission window in the first quarter from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The mission is designed to validate water hunting infrastructure, such as a prospecting drill, and essential mobility services like our Micronova hopper, which is designed to deploy off the lander and prospect by hopping across the lunar surface. Our third delivery mission, IM3, is on a similar pace. Right now, the vehicle is undergoing integrated vibration testing, and we anticipate a mission window through early 2026. With this launch opportunity, we will also deploy the first of five data relay satellites under the Near Space Network Services Contract, as I mentioned. We intend to deliver the next two data relay satellites on our fourth service delivery mission, IM4. NASA awarded Intuitive Machines that $116.9 million mission in September, and we expect additional commercial payloads to join that mission. This South Pole mission includes six NASA payloads in addition to a European Space Agency-led drill suite to search for water ice. During the third quarter, Intuitive Machines continued to mature the lunar terrain vehicle design, culminating in delivery of our prototype vehicle to NASA's Johnson Space Center for human-in-the-loop testing, where astronauts will evaluate crew interfaces and operations with the vehicle. Prior to delivery to NASA, Intuitive Machines was honored to host Apollo-era moonwalkers Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmidt to evaluate our design. This was a unique opportunity for our mechanics to incorporate real-life astronaut experience of driving the original Apollo rover into our design for the NASA's LTBS program. This past Thursday, the LTV team unveiled our first fully electric, crab-walking motorized vehicle at NASA's official visitor center in Houston. Later this month, you will see our vehicle performing testing near Meteor Crater National Park in Arizona. Since the LTV is large and heavy, roughly the size of a pickup truck, it requires a larger lander for delivery to the surface of the moon. Through a series of rigorous design reviews, we continue to mature our heavy cargo lander variant, Nova D, which will be capable of delivering the pickup truck-sized lunar terrain vehicle to the surface of the moon. Recall the next phase of the LTB contract is still competitive, as Intuitive Machines is one of three vendors vying for the delivery and demonstration mission, which is expected to be awarded late next year. It's important to note that the LTBS contract is more than just a mobility platform. It's a full-service offering. This includes the ability to deliver the vehicle to the lunar surface to communicate and autonomously operate the vehicle while on the surface of the Moon over a 10-year period. The experience gained from past and near-term surface delivery missions will enable Intuitive Machines as the only prime contractor in the LTBS bidding pool with validated experience delivering to, transmitting data from, and autonomously operating infrastructure on the surface of the moon. Our strategic approach to create a lunar economy appears well aligned with current and future political priorities. We believe the United States returning to the moon has and will continue to have bipartisan support as we enter the next generation space race with China. It's critical for the country to develop a sustainable lunar economy and lead the world in space exploration. Our government has made it clear that returning to the moon is of strategic importance to the United States. Collectively, the industry must continue to produce capabilities that enable expansion of the lunar economy. For our part, we plan to accomplish this through a steady cadence of missions, gradually learning about how to live and work on the moon. For NASA to successfully execute its Artemis campaign in a globally competitive landscape, we see the possible need for a reformulation driven by budgetary and schedule realities. We believe NASA must continue to partner with commercial industries to drive an affordable, incremental roadmap that enables steady, visible progress. The emphasis on low cost combined with precursor work to gain engineering insights for surface infrastructure are essential for a long-term stay on the moon and a thriving lunar economy. This infrastructure and data-first approach can then accommodate potential delays and budget shortfalls in developing the human systems while keeping them squarely in sight for the United States. The company finished the third quarter by taking an immediate, tangible step towards playing a key role in future commercial and government lunar activities by establishing a foothold in lunar orbit before our first relay satellite is deployed. Intuitive Machines has assumed the contract, the team, and the responsibility for operations and data analysis for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and ShadowCam cameras and imagery. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has been circling the Moon since 2009 with the primary goal of making a 3D map of the Moon's surface and is critical for analyzing and selecting all future lunar landing sites. ShadowCam's objective is to provide information about the distribution and accessibility of water ice and other volatiles on the surface. With Intuitive Machines now participating in collection of lunar surface data, we've added an incredible team and technical capability in Phoenix, Arizona. Prior to joining Intuitive Machines, this team supported our first mission, including capturing imagery and documenting our actual landing location on the surface of the moon. This team brings invaluable experience that we believe will accelerate Intuitive Machines' ability to field the first lunar data relay satellite constellation under the Near Space Network Services Contract, while providing immediate high-resolution images of the moon for prospecting, landing site selection, and mobility mission planning for the entire industry. With that, I'll turn the call over to Intuitive Machines Chief Financial Officer Pete McGrath.