The flight will also mark the first launch of the agency’s massive Space Launch System rocket, a major milestone in the Artemis campaign to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since the last Apollo mission in 1972.
Given the complexity of the vehicles and the fact that NASA has not previously launched an SLS rocket, NASA stressed that launch dates at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida are tentative and subject to change.
NASA made several attempts earlier this year to conduct a refueling and simulated countdown test of the SLS rocket, known as a wetsuit exercise. While loading 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the rocket, engineers encountered several problems. including hydrogen leakage NASA prevented the test from completing its countdown. As a result, NASA was forced to return the rocket from the launch pad to its assembly building for repairs and additional testing.
Still, officials said they were able to complete it enough testing to continue with the launch attempt. On Wednesday, officials of the Space Agency said that everything is going well.
The mission, known as Artemis I, will send the Orion crew capsule into lunar orbit for about six weeks, allowing the agency to test a number of systems before putting astronauts aboard.
NASA’s Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin said one of the main goals of the flight was to test Orion’s thermal shielding. The heat shield is designed to protect Orion and its future crew from the extreme temperatures it will encounter when it enters Earth’s atmosphere at 24,500 mph, or Mach 32. Sarafin said that these temperatures will reach “half of the sun”.
NASA will also try to test the spacecraft’s navigation systems, its ability to use energy from solar arrays, and its stability while traveling in high-radiation areas. Sensors will be installed on three on-board dummies to determine how the astronauts will fare in flight. Sarafin said another test would be to recover the spacecraft after splashing into the ocean.
Considering that NASA has not attempted to send a spacecraft designed to fly humans Month after 50 yearsSarafin said challenges are expected, but “our team is ready to adapt to this path.”
If the Artemis I mission goes as planned, NASA plans to fly a similar mission known as Artemis II with astronauts on board. A human landing, dubbed Artemis III, could happen in 2025, NASA said.
If NASA decides to go ahead with an Artemis I launched in August. On August 29, SLS will roll its rocket from the assembly building to the launch pad. 18.
“We think we are well on our way to getting there [launch] attempts were made in those days,” said NASA Associate Administrator Jim Free. But there, he has to remind reporters that astronauts are planning a seven-day vacation to Florida, and you can see a launch, too, he told their families, who often come to watch their space launches.
