This Monday (29), NASA makes its first attempt to launch the Artemis I mission, the first test flight of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket with the Orion capsule, intended to take humans back to the Moon. The window of opportunity for the launch, which in this test will not have a crew, opens at 9:33 am (GMT) and lasts for two hours. Follow live with Sidereal Messengerstarting at 9 am, in the video below.
The countdown began 48 hours before liftoff, which is expected to take place from platform 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. But there are still challenges to overcome. Storms on Saturday afternoon (27) over the launch site caused lightning to fall in the vicinity of the rocket, captured by the surrounding lightning rods (one in tower 1 and two in tower 2). Apparently they were low magnitude discharges, but the occurrence requires checking the ground and vehicle systems. In any case, the count proceeded smoothly.
The weather forecast gives an 80% chance of good conditions for the start of the flight window – an encouraging prospect, although there is expected weather degradation for the next two hours. But of course, in addition to the weather, it is possible that there is a problem with the launch systems.
Before refueling began in the early hours of the morning, bad weather led to a brief pause in counting. With the resumption and authorization to start filling the fuel and oxidizer tanks, technicians and engineers had to deal with signs of small leaks of hydrogen (which is combined with oxygen in engines to propel it, generating water as a by-product of burning), as well as a difficulty conditioning the rocket’s first stage motor 3 (which needs to be cooled down before starting). This delayed the advance of flight preparations somewhat, with the unplanned freeze of the count at T-40 minutes.
It’s worth remembering that, in the last “wet test” (in which the rocket is taken to the platform and fueled, simulating all the steps until launch), the American space agency ended up interrupting the count with 29 seconds left. According to the technicians, the problem that prevented the achievement of the goal (reaching within 5 seconds of the simulated launch) was identified and resolved.
If it departs this Monday (29), the mission could last up to 42 days, making it the longest-lived flight by a capsule intended to take crew into deep space. Orion will travel carrying experiments and two dummies into a distant retrograde lunar orbit, before returning to Earth and sinking into the Pacific Ocean. If the count has to be stopped and the launch delayed, there are two reserve dates for retrying, September 2nd and 5th.
If all goes well with the test, the way will be open for Artemis II, the first mission to take humans to the vicinity of the Moon since Apollo 17, in December 1972. NASA hopes to carry out this next flight in 2024, with the possibility that end up staying for 2025.
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