NASA says it will try again on Saturday to launch its Artemis 1 test flight, a mission that will carry an unmanned Orion crew capsule on a 42-day voyage beyond the moon and back.
Launch was originally set for Monday morning, but after months of testing, troubleshooting, and repairs, NASA encountered problems during fuelling of the Space Launch System moon rocket, causing the agency to abort the launch just before the two-hour window opened.
We are now targeting Saturday, September 3 for the launch of the #Artemis I Moon-orbiting test flight. At 14:17 EST, the launch window opens for two hours (18:17 UTC). pic.twitter.com/MxwdcKHGdd
— NASA (@NASA) August 30, 2022
Monday, NASA engineers were attempting to remedy a number of difficulties, including a hydrogen leak discovered during refueling. One of the channels transmitting commands and telemetry to the Orion spacecraft experienced a brief communications hiccup during the closing hours of the countdown, which necessitated debugging to determine the cause. On the exterior of the rocket’s core stage, a potential indicator of a leak of some kind, a breach in the thermal insulation, or another issue was observed.
The Space Launch System moon rocket atop pad 39B on Monday, August 29, 2022, awaiting launch on a mission to deliver an uncrewed Orion capsule on a 42-day shakedown voyage beyond and back to the moon. NASA
When the launch occurs, it will be a spectacular sight. Four shuttle-era engines and two extended strap-on solid fuel boosters will create 8.8 million pounds of thrust to launch the 5.7-million-pound rocket from pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center.
The rocket’s component of the Artemis 1 mission will last only one hour and thirty-six minutes, launching the Orion capsule and its European Space Agency-supplied Orion service module into space, out of Earth orbit, and onto a lunar trajectory.
Orion will return to a distant orbit around the moon for two weeks of testing and inspection following a 60-mile-high flyby.
If all goes according to plan, the capsule will fall back toward the moon for a second close flyby that will initiate a rapid descent back to Earth, with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on October 11.
Rollout to pad 39B of the SLS rocket, the most powerful ever constructed by NASA. NASA
Following the Artemis 1 mission, NASA intends to deploy four people on a looping around-the-moon voyage in 2024, paving the way for the first human landing in nearly 50 years near the south pole. In the period between 2025 and 2026, the first woman and the next man could land on the moon.
Future astronauts may be able to “mine” ice deposits in lunar craters near the pole, assuming they exist and are accessible, and convert it into oxygen, water, and even rocket fuel to drastically cut the cost of deep space exploration.
In a broader sense, Artemis astronauts will conduct extensive exploration and study to understand more about the moon’s genesis and evolution and to test the necessary equipment and processes prior to sending people to Mars.
NASA must first demonstrate that the rocket and capsule will function as intended by launching Artemis 1.
The objective of the Artemis 1 mission is to put the Orion spacecraft through its paces, testing its solar power, propulsion, navigation, and life support systems prior to its return to Earth on October 10 and a 25,000-mph re-entry into the atmosphere that will expose its protective heat shield to a hellish 5,000 degrees.
Artemis 1’s top priority is to test the heat shield and establish that it can protect astronauts returning from deep space.
A depiction of the Orion spacecraft flying past the moon. NASA