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The new NASA rocket “Space Launch System” is scheduled to set off for the moon in mid-November. So far it looks as if the start could succeed this time.
- The NASA rocket “Space Launch System” (SLS) is to complete its maiden flight after years of delay.
- The “Artemis 1” mission, which will take the rocket around the moon, is planned for November 16th.
- The mission of the space capsule “Orion” should culminate in the next moon landing in 2025 at the earliest.
Update from Saturday, November 12, 3:55 p.m.: The US space organization is sticking to the next launch date for the new moon rocket SLS. The “Artemis 1” mission, in which the rocket carries the “Orion” capsule towards the moon, is currently scheduled to start on Wednesday (November 16). According to NASA, the two-hour launch window opens at 7:04 a.m. CET. The rocket is still being checked for damage from passing Storm Nicole, but so far everything seems to be looking good. “Right now there’s nothing stopping us from reaching the 16th,” said NASA employee Jim Free.
So far, the weather forecast for the planned start date also looks good. If there are no technical problems, the Nasa rocket could actually take off on the third attempt to the moon. It is planned that the space capsule “Orion” will orbit the moon without a crew on board and splash down in the Pacific on December 11th. The “Artemis 1” mission is intended to pave the way for Nasa to return to the moon. It is planned that the “Artemis 2” mission will fly people around the moon again for the first time, while “Artemis 3” is not expected to bring the first woman and the first person with non-white skin to the moon in 2025 at the earliest.
NASA’s “Space Launch System”: This is how the moon rocket SLS is structured
NASA’s “Space Launch System”: This is how the moon rocket SLS is structured
NASA mission “Artemis 1”: Moon rocket had to survive storm “Nicole”.
Update from Friday, November 11th, 9:30 a.m.: The new NASA rocket “Space Launch System” survived Hurricane “Nicole” and is now being tested by NASA employees. “Our team is conducting initial visual inspections of the rocket, spacecraft and ground system equipment using the cameras on the launch pad,” NASA official Jim Free said in a statement. According to initial information, “very minor damage such as loose seals and cracks in the weather covers” were found. Further on-site investigations are to take place shortly.
mission name | Artemis 1 |
---|---|
rocket | NASA’s Space Launch System |
space capsule | Orion |
starting place | Ramp 39B at Kennedy Space Center |
planned start date | November 16, 2022 at 07:04 (CET) |
duration of the mission | 25 days, 11 hours, 36 minutes |
planned route | 2.1 million kilometers |
Landing in the Pacific | December 11, 2022 |
Source: NASA |
The rocket had to withstand wind gusts of up to 132 km/h at a height of 18.3 meters during the hurricane. At a height of 142 meters, NASA wind sensors had measured up to 161 km/h. The rocket itself is a good 100 meters high. Further inspection of the rocket will show whether the planned launch of the rocket on November 16th can take place.
Nasa rocket has to withstand another hurricane – launch date postponed
Update from Wednesday, November 9, 10:44 a.m.: Again, Nasa has to postpone the planned start date of the moon mission “Artemis 1”, because another storm is approaching Florida, which makes the planned start on November 14th impossible. Kennedy Space Center is currently in Hurricane Condition III status, which means everything is being secured and a team is being prepared to stay on site during the storm, NASA said in a statement.
The space organization is currently planning November 16 as the new launch date for the “Artemis 1” mission. The two-hour launch window opens on this day at 7:04 a.m. CET, and the landing in the Pacific would then be on December 11. NASA has announced November 19 as the backup date for the start of the long-awaited moon mission.
Nasa moon mission “Artemis 1”: Rocket is again threatened by storm
First report from Tuesday, November 8th: Cape Canaveral – The US Space Agency NASA makes another attempt to launch the new rocket “Space Launch System” (SLS) and as part of the mission “Artemis 1” the “Orion” capsule around the moon to send. About two and a half months have passed since the first attempt at the end of August, which was aborted because part of the rocket was not completely sealed. Troubleshooting and further tests followed, until the rocket was brought to safety in the hangar as a precaution because of Hurricane “Ian”.
Now the next attempt is imminent: On November 14, 2022 at 06:07 a.m. a 69-minute window for the launch to the moon will open.
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“Artemis 1”: Next launch date for NASA moon rocket is set
But even this launch attempt – it is now the third – does not seem to be under a lucky star: Another subtropical storm is approaching the US state of Florida with “Nicole”, where the rocket is now ready for launch again at launch pad 39B in the Kennedy Space Center. But this time Nasa decided not to bring the rocket back to the hangar. The rocket itself is relatively robust, but strong winds could pose a problem: some elements of the rocket could be damaged by flying debris, for example.
According to NASA, the “Space Launch System”, at the top of which is the “Orion” space capsule, can withstand wind gusts of up to 74.1 knots (137 km/h). If it is exposed to constant wind, there is an upper limit of a maximum of 40 knots (46 km/h). “The team reviewed the prediction and decided that the rocket will remain on the ramp,” a NASA spokeswoman said.
NASA rocket SLS: A launch costs 4.1 billion US dollars
Particularly delicate: Like the portal Ars Technica reported, the rocket can only be rolled back into the hangar and back to the launch pad once – the more than twelve kilometer long journey puts a lot of strain on the rocket. Since the spring, the SLS rocket has completed the journey four times . Further movement of the rocket could gradually increase the risk of damage, according to the report, which has not yet been confirmed by NASA.
Nasa wants to go back to the moon
NASA’s “Artemis” missions aim to land humans on the moon again. Artemis 1 is the only spacecraft that will orbit the moon without humans on board. The “Artemis 2” mission is intended to orbit the moon with humans on board, “Artemis 3” is intended to land the first woman and the first human with non-white skin on the moon.
The NASA rocket “Space Launch System” was actually supposed to make its maiden flight in 2017. The development of the rocket cost eleven billion US dollars, according to an estimate by the NASA Inspector General from November 2021, a single rocket launch will cost 4.1 billion US dollars. (tab)
List of rubrics: © IMAGO/Pat Benic
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