NASA’s Artemis 1 moon rocket is no longer on the launch pad.
Artemis 1 stack — a Space Launch System The (SLS) rocket left Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida at 4:12 a.m. Saturday, July 2 – atop the Orion crew capsule.
The two reached KSC’s massive Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) around 2:30 PM EDT (1830 GMT) and completed the 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) hike above NASA’s enormous summit. pallet truck 2 vehicles In a little over 10 hours, agency officials said in a blog post (opens in new tab).
Related: NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission unveiled in photos
Artemis 1 has recently completed a “wet suit rehearsal”, a crucial series of tests and simulations designed to help determine if a vehicle is ready for flight. This wet suit success was hard-won; The Artemis 1 team first attempted to notch the milestone in early April, but was thwarted by several technical issues, including a stuck valve. Team members took the stack back to the VAB for repair on April 25, and then shipped the pad to the pad for another attempt earlier this month.
The latest attempt didn’t go smoothly – a hydrogen leak was discovered during refueling operations – but NASA officials accepted well enough To begin preparing Artemis 1 for takeoff.
Artemis 1 will send an uncrewed Orion on a journey that will take about a month. moon. The mission team apparently looks set to launch in late August or early September, but no official target date will be set until SLS and Orion are fully inspected at the VAB.
As the name suggests, Artemis 1 is NASA’s first mission. Artemis programAiming to establish a sustainable human presence on and around the Moon by the end of the 2020s. If all goes well with Artemis 1, Artemis 2 will send a team Hunter Around the moon in 2024, and Artemis 3 will land astronauts near the Moon’s south pole in about two years.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on June 30 at 2:15 PM EDT with the new estimated rollback start time 8:00 PM EDT. NASA took the turn back four hours (opens in new tab) Due to the expected bad weather during the night. The story was updated again on June 30 at 7:20 PM EDT, with the latest estimated rollback time on July 1 at 6 PM EDT. To the VAB,” NASA officials He said on Twitter (opens in new tab). This story has been updated for the third time on July 1 at 11:15 a.m. EDT with the new estimated rollback start time at 11:15 p.m. EDT. NASA received the return later because of the weather, According to NASA officials (opens in new tab). The story was last updated on July 2 at 4:55 PM EDT with the news that Artemis 1 had reached the VAB.
Mike Wall”Outside (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or he Facebook (opens in new tab).
