Tag: orion

NASA Prepares Artemis I SLS-Orion Spacecraft Ahead of Planned August 29 Launch

NASA is preparing for Artemis I, the launch of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, along with the Orion spacecraft for astronauts, which is set to blast off on August 29. The US space agency is readying to test its flight system that is designed to send astronauts back to the Moon, decades after it completed its Apollo missions. NASA is preparing for the next generation of space travel. The agency’s SLS spacecraft is the latest vertical launch system developed by NASA.

Earlier this week, NASA completed a flight readiness review for the Artemis I launch, ahead of the scheduled test flight on August 29. The flight administrators met at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and confirmed that the mission was ready for launch. The SLS-Orion spacecraft is expected to blast off on Monday. 

Artemis I is just the beginning for NASA, and the agency’s test flight is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions. The uncrewed flight test will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, according to NASA as it plans to return humans to the Moon and explore more of the lunar surface.

Last week, NASA’s SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission arrived on at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after a 10-hour journey that began from NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building. 

According to NASA, the space agency’s engineers and technicians are currently working on configuring systems at the pad ahead of the launch. The SLS-Orion spacecraft is expected to launch on Monday at 8:33am EDT (6:03pm IST). 

Artemis I will stress test the SLS-Orion spacecraft’s systems as part of NASA’s plans to verify whether the system is ready to take astronauts to the moon, a goal the space agency is aiming to complete by 2025, ahead of its plans to send humans to other planets, including Mars. 

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NASA Announces Potential August Launch Date for Artemis 1 Moon Mission Aboard SLS Rocket

On the 53rd anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, NASA announced on Wednesday that it’s shooting for a late August launch of its giant, new moon rocket.

NASA will attempt the more than month-long lunar test flight with three mannequins, but no astronauts, as early as August 29. There are also two launch dates in early September, before NASA would have to stand down for two weeks.

NASA’s Jim Free noted the test flight begins “our Artemis program to go back to the moon.” The space agency’s new lunar program is named Artemis after Apollo‘s twin sister in Greek mythology.

The 30-story Space Launch System rocket and attached Orion capsule are currently in the hangar at Kennedy Space Center, following repairs stemming from last month’s countdown test. Fuel leaks and other technical trouble cropped up during NASA’s repeated launch rehearsals at the pad.

NASA officials assured reporters Wednesday that the problems have been resolved and that testing is almost complete. But they cautioned the launch dates could slip, depending on the volatile Florida weather and issues that might arise before the rocket is supposed to return to the pad on August 18.

“We’re going to be careful,” said Free, head of exploration systems development.

At 322 feet (98 meters), the rocket and Orion capsule are taller than the Statue of Liberty.

If Orion’s trip to the moon and back goes well, astronauts could climb aboard in 2023 for a lunar loop-around and actually land in 2025.

Astronauts last explored the moon in 1972. The first of the 12 moonwalkers, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, stepped onto the dusty gray surface on July 20, 1969, while Michael Collins orbited the moon.

The 92-year-old Aldrin, the sole survivor of the three, noted the anniversary in a tweet. He stated, “Neil, Michael & I were proud to represent America as we took those giant leaps for mankind. It was a moment which united the world and America’s finest hour.”



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