Earlier this Wednesday (16), NASA made its third attempt to launch the Artemis 1 mission, the first flight of the SLS 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 3:04 am (GMT) and lasts for two hours. Here in the Sidereal Messengeryou can follow the beginning of the mission live, starting at 2:30 am.
Meteorology predicts a 90% chance of good conditions for takeoff. But the American space agency has been struggling with this launch for some time, and it is not impossible that new technical problems will lead to the postponement of the flight.
The first launch attempt, originally scheduled for the first quarter, did not take place until August 29. Problems with a temperature sensor in one of the first stage engines led to the interruption of the countdown, with 40 minutes left for takeoff.
A new attempt was made on September 3, but excessive leaks of liquid hydrogen during the rocket’s fueling, above tolerated limits, once again stopped the countdown from advancing three hours before the launch window opened.
Instead of returning the vehicle to the assembly building, NASA opted for an effort to carry out repairs on platform 39B itself at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A rocket fueling exercise conducted after repairs was successful. But then what stopped another flight attempt was Hurricane Ian, which forced the agency to take the rocket back to the assembly building on September 26.
The recall procedure triggered a new series of staging resumes, pushing a new launch effort to mid-November. The rocket arrived back at platform 39B on the 4th, aiming for a launch last Monday (14th).
And then another hurricane, Nicole, crossed Florida. The agency pushed the launch date to this Wednesday (16), but did not have time to collect the vehicle, which was exposed to the hurricane’s wind. At dawn last Thursday (10), winds of up to 160 km/h hit the rocket.
It tells NASA that everything happened within the limits supported by the vehicle. There is some controversy over this, given the height of the rocket (98 m). Fact is, there was some damage.
Some of the filling material between the emergency escape system and the Orion capsule on top of the rocket came off. Even while counting down, NASA was analyzing the risk that more of this material would “delaminate,” to use their phrase, and become debris that could hit the SLS body during flight (yes, remember the Columbia case, in which foam from the tank hit the edge of the shuttle’s wing and doomed the mission on re-entry).
There were also problems with one of the telemetry connectors. The agency continued to try to restore its operation, but noting that, even if it was not possible, there was redundancy.
Moral of the story: nothing was considered an impediment to the release. The count started at 3:54 am this Monday, and the agency expects to carry it out, with takeoff at 3:04 am this Wednesday.
The total duration of the mission, which involves taking the capsule into a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon, where it will spend about a week before returning to Earth, depends on the day of departure. If it leaves this Wednesday, it is expected to return on December 11, making a 26-day spaceflight – a journey longer than any of the Apollo missions carried out in the past century.
Follow the Sidereal Messenger on Facebook, twitterInstagram and YouTube
I have worked in the news industry for over 10 years and have been an author at News Bulletin 247 for the past 5 years. I mostly cover technology news and enjoy writing about the latest gadgets and devices. I am also a huge fan of music and enjoy attending live concerts whenever possible.
