Everything is ready in Florida (USA) for the first attempt, next Monday, August 29, to launch the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft.
It is an unmanned mission that will take off to make a trip around the Moon.
A few days ago, the Orion spacecraft arrived at launch pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida (USA). If everything goes according to plan, the Artemis I lunar mission will become a reality on August 29, date on which the first opportunity for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to lift off from the platform together with Orion has been announced.
As NASA announced yesterday, the flight readiness review for the Artemis I mission has concluded, and crews are proceeding to a two-hour launch window (which opens at 14:33 Spanish time) from monday august 29, from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There are two other dates reserved for possible releases: September 2 and 5.
A test ride for future manned missions
This first Artemis mission will test NASA’s Orion spacecraft and its European service module during a round trip to the Moon. The spacecraft will enter lunar orbit, using the Moon’s gravity to pick up speed and propel itself nearly half a million kilometers from Earth. farther than any human-capable spacecraft has ever traveled.
Sustainable presence
This trip will serve as a test for the Orion spacecraft and its SLS rocket before crewed flights to the Moon. In this case, there will be no crew aboard Orion, and the ship will be controlled by teams here on Earth. In the second Artemis missionhowever, four astronauts will travel around the Moon in a close approach to our natural satellite.
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“Artemis is the first step in the next era of human exploration. Together with commercial and international partners, NASA will establish a sustainable presence on the Moon to prepare for missions to Mars”, as explained by the US space agency.
The rocket and spacecraft reached their platform after a journey of almost 10 hours and 6 kilometers from the Vehicle Assembly Building. From the NASA YouTube channel you can follow the broadcast live from the launch pad.