Engineers readied NASA's Space Launch System's moon rocket, returned to the launch pad Tuesday night, and launched a giant The long-awaited maiden flight at the end of the month.
A powerful Apollo-era crawler transport with a 3.5 million-pound, 322-foot-tall SLS rocket and a 10.5-million-pound mobile launch platform set off from the iconic Kennedy Space Center vehicle It was expected that the assembly building around 9:00 pm. His EDT to begin his 4.2 mile journey to Pad 39B.
With MobileHis launcher down on a pedestal above the launch pad early Wednesday, engineers connected power, data, propellant lines, water lines, and other systems to prepare for pre-launch. Prepare your rocket for thorough testing and checkout.
If all goes well, the team will begin a 46-hour, 10-minute countdown at 10:23 am EDT on August 27. , the unpiloted Orion Crew Capsule orbited the Moon and returned after a 42-day flight, ready for launch at 8:33 a.m. on Monday, August 29.
Opportunity for a backup launch based on the ever-changing positions of the Earth and Moon and the need for spaceport propellant resupply will be announced on September 2. available. 5. NASA would then have to take her SLS to her VAB for battery and other system repairs, delaying the launch until later this fall.
The goals of the Artemis 1 mission are to validate the performance of the SLS, test the solar-powered Orion Crew Capsule in deep space, and protect the ship from hellish high pressure with a 16.5-foot-wide heat shield. It's to make sure - at the end of the flight the velocity plunges into the Earth's atmosphere.
Assuming a scheduled launch, the Orion capsule is scheduled to land in the Pacific Ocean west of San Diego on October 10 at 11:53 am EDT.
If the test flights go well, NASA plans to launch four astronauts on Artemis 2, the second flight of the SLS rocket, in 2024, followed by 26 astronauts from 2025. A third mission will follow, sending the first woman and the next man to the moon during the year.
The SLS is the world's most powerful operational rocket, using two extended Shuttle-legacy solid-fuel boosters and four upgraded Shuttle-era RS-25 engines to calibrate at takeoff. produces 8.8 million pounds of thrust. 15% more than NASA's legendary Saturn 5 Moon rocket.
In the initial "Block 1" configuration, the SLS can push about 30 tons to the moon. A planned variant with a more powerful upper stage and advanced boosters could send about 50 tons to the moon in a single flight.
SpaceX is building a bigger, more powerful Super-Heavy Starship rocket with twice the capabilities of her, but not in one flight. The reusable starship is designed to refuel in Earth orbit before leaving for deep space.
Last year, NASA conducted a full-time test launch of the Boeing-built SLS Core Stage and his four Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engines at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The booster was then shipped to Florida, where it was fitted with a second rocket stage provided by the United Launch Alliance and an Orion capsule manufactured by Lockheed Martin.
Engineers conducted four dress rehearsal countdowns to clear the way for launch, but the test was marred by ground system problems: a stuck helium valve and two nasty hydrogen leaks. was The base of the core stage and another of the small fittings used to cool the main engine.
Hydrogen leaks are notoriously difficult to identify and fix because they only appear when cryogenic propellant is flowing through the lines and fittings.Repairs must be done at room temperature . The
engineer successfully repaired his umbilical fitting and it worked fine during subsequent fuel delivery tests. However, after the latest countdown he rehearsed the main engine 'bleed' line, which he repaired at the VAB, and has not yet been retested under cryogenic conditions. It won't happen until SLS is ready for his Aug. 29 launch.
Bill Harwood has been in charge of the US space program full-time since 1984. , initially at United Press, where he served as International's Cape Canaveral bureau chief, and now he is a consultant for CBS News. He covered his 129 space his shuttle his missions, every interplanetary flight since Voyager 2's Neptune flyby, and numerous commercial and military launches. Based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Harwood is a dedicated amateur astronomer and co-author of "Comm Check: The Final Flight of Shuttle Columbia."
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