CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The countdown has begun for NASA’s biggest test flight of the year.
Today (August 27) at 10:23 PM EDT (1423 GMT), the countdown begins for NASA’s scheduled launch. Artemis 1 questan ambitious first flight to the moon with the agency’s most powerful rocket ever – Space Launch System (SLS) – and its Orion spacecraft. The uncrewed test flight is scheduled to begin Monday, August 29 at 8:33 a.m. EDT (1233 GMT) from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center.
“This first launch is another step in the blueprint of our sustainable exploration plan. solar systemNASA’s assistant director of exploration systems development, Jim Free, said in a briefing to reporters here on Friday. Watch the Artemis 1 month mission launch live online, courtesy of NASA TV. A live webcast will begin Monday morning at 6:30 am EDT (1030 GMT).
Related: NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission: Live updates
Artemis 1 is NASA’s flagship mission. Artemis programaiming to bring back astronauts moon By 2025, it will land the first woman and human of color on the Moon’s south pole, an area that astronauts have never seen before with their own eyes. The mission flight will send an uncrewed Orion capsule on a 42-day journey to the Moon’s orbit to test the spacecraft’s readiness to carry astronauts and return to Earth.
If this mission is successful, NASA will follow up. Artemis 2A crewed trip around the Moon in 2024, later Artemis 3 Crewed Moon landing a year later. The ultimate goal, NASA says, is to make annual flights to the moon after Artemis 3. gateway space station Target lunar orbit and then crewed flights Anthem.
There is a 70% chance of good weather for Artemis 1 to launch, and scattered rain showers are the main concern. according to NASA (opens in new tab) and USA space force‘s Space Launch Delta 45 air group. NASA has a two-hour window to launch Artemis 1 to provide some wiggle room if Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.
Related: Artemis 1: 10 crazy facts about NASA’s moon mission
During the two-day countdown for Artemis 1, NASA launch controllers will take the mission’s 322-foot-long (98-meter) Space Launch System megarocket and Orion spacecraft through its final steps for flight. Engineers closed the lid on the Orion capsule for the last time on Thursday, August 25.
On Friday, engineers also closed the hatch on the SLS rocket’s launch arrest system aboard the Orion spacecraft and retracted the astronauts in the crew access arm, which astronauts will use to board the spacecraft for future missions.
NASA will begin fueling the SLS rocket, which it will broadcast live Monday morning at 12 a.m. EDT (0400 GMT). You’ll be able to watch this event live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, On our Artemis 1 webcast page.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include a note that NASA’s Artemis 1 launch countdown has begun as planned.
Email Tarik Malik tmalik@space.com or follow it @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Instagram.
