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The Artemis 1 space mission hopes to test the Space Launch System rocket, as well as the unmanned Orion capsule atop it, in preparation for future trips to the Moon with humans aboard.
NASA’s moon rocket sits on Pad 39B for the Artemis 1 mission to orbit the moon at the Kennedy Space Center, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. No new release date has been scheduled as of today. (AP)
NASA is targeting Sept. 27 as the earliest possible launch date for its uncrewed Artemis 1 mission to the moon, the agency said in a blog post Monday.
The date will depend on engineering teams successfully completing a test to power the Space Launch System rocket and receiving a waiver to avoid retesting the batteries in an emergency flight system used to destroy the rocket if it strays from its designated range.
If he doesn’t get the waiver, the rocket will have to be taken back to its assembly building, pushing the timeline back a few weeks.
For the Sept. 27 date, a “70-minute launch window opens at 11:37 a.m. EDT,” while the mission would end with an ocean splash of the Orion capsule on Nov. 5.
A possible next date is October 2nd.
Mission Artemis
The Artemis 1 space mission hopes to test the SLS as well as the unmanned Orion capsule atop it, in preparation for future trips to the Moon with humans on board.
Once launched, the spacecraft will take several days to reach the Moon, flying within about 60 miles (100 kilometers) on its closest approach.
One of the main goals of the trip is to test the capsule’s heat shield, which at 16 feet (five meters) in diameter is the largest ever built, when the craft re-enters the atmosphere.
The next mission, Artemis 2, will take astronauts to the Moon without landing on its surface, while the third, scheduled for the mid-2020s, will see the first woman and person of color on lunar soil.
NASA wants to build a lunar space station called Gateway and maintain a sustained presence on the Moon to gather information on how to survive very long space missions, before a mission to Mars in the 2030s.
Source: AFP