Summary:
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NASA tried to launch the Artemis I Moon mission in August and September, but technical problems and bad weather made it impossible.
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For a third attempt, though, the atmosphere at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center is still upbeat.
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“The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is expected to be launched on Wednesday within an hour window that began at 01:04 local time (06:04 GMT). There is an 80% chance of favourable weather, according to meteorologists.
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The mission that will attempt to send men to the lunar surface is Artemis III, which might launch in 2025 or 2026. How we will send people to the Moon again SLS has had a difficult time preparing for launch, even having recently had to wait out a passing cyclone on Kennedy’s renowned Pad 39B. Engineers are still learning the nuances of this novel vehicle, particularly when it comes to loading the rocket with the 2.7 million liters of cryogenic fuel required to run the four primary engines under its core stage.
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The mission is expected to last about 26 days.
In the next few hours, the US space agency will try again to launch its most powerful rocket.
NASA tried to launch the Artemis I Moon mission in August and September, but technical problems and bad weather made it impossible.
For a third attempt, though, the atmosphere at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center is still upbeat.
NASA’s Artemis mission manager, Mike Sarafin, assured reporters, “We’re going to do our best.”
That being said, “it may not be our day if we have a problem that arises that would force us to meet one of our no-go criteria.”
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is expected to be launched on Wednesday within an hour window that began at 01:04 local time (06:04 GMT).
There is an 80% chance of favorable weather, according to meteorologists.
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Orion, a NASA spacecraft: a reference
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An imaging mission to reveal the Moon Artemis
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Beyond Earth and the Moon
The goal of the 100-meter-tall rocket is to launch a human-rated spacecraft toward the Moon, something that hasn’t happened since Project Apollo concluded in 1972.
Since Artemis I is a technology demonstration, there won’t be a crew on board. However, if everything goes according to plan, Artemis II, which is scheduled to launch in 2024, will most surely be transporting passengers. The mission that will attempt to send men to the lunar surface is Artemis III, which might launch in 2025 or 2026.
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How we will send people to the Moon again
The SLS has had a difficult time preparing for launch, even having recently had to wait out a passing cyclone on Kennedy’s renowned Pad 39B.
Engineers are still learning how to use this new vehicle, especially how to load the rocket with the 2.7 million liters of cryogenic fuel needed to power the four main engines under its core stage.
During the first attempts to launch, the super-cold liquid propellants often leaked as they were being poured into the vehicle’s tanks.
Launch director Charlie Blackwell Thompson said that Wednesday’s fueling will take longer and be done in a “kinder, gentler way” than in the past.
If the SLS gets away this time, it will be a breathtaking sight for sure.
The vehicle will launch with a thrust of 39.1 meganewtons (8.8 million pounds). The Apollo astronauts’ Saturn V rockets from the 1960s and 1970s carried about 15% more thrust than that.
In other words, the engines of the SLS could launch the equivalent of over 60 Concorde supersonic aircraft.
It will take the SLS just over eight minutes to complete the first stage of its ascent.
This will send the Orion spacecraft and the upper stage of the rocket into a very elliptical orbit. After that, they will both fall back to Earth without doing any more work.
The orbit will need to be raised and circularized by the upper stage before Orion is propelled in the direction of the Moon.
Two hours and five minutes after launch, it should be clear that the capsule is on its own, going in the right direction, and speeding up through space.
The mission is expected to last about 26 days. On December 11, Orion will make his way back to Earth and splash down in the water off San Diego, California.
The mission lasts a little bit longer than the maximum of 21 days that spacecraft manufacturer Lockheed Martin recommends astronauts spend inside the spacecraft. However, both the business and NASA want to test the spaceship’s capabilities.
Analysis by: Advocacy Unified Network
