The Space Launch System, or SLS, is the space agency’s newest and most powerful rocket to date and will return astronauts to the moon sometime in 2024 or 2025 as part of the Artemis program. The rocket began firing from the massive vehicle assembly building at 11:16 p.m. ET Thursday, nearly 45 minutes ahead of schedule. The first launch attempt is scheduled for November 14, at 12:07 AM. ET. There are two other launch windows — where Earth and the Moon are in the right position for the mission — on Nov. 16 at 1:04 a.m. ET and on Nov. 19 at 1:45 a.m. ET. The launch was supposed to take place on August 29, but was cleared after some issues including a hydrogen leak. A second launch attempt occurred on September 3, but once again, a hydrogen leak forced NASA to withdraw it. Although the space agency had hoped for a third attempt in September, Hurricane Ian forced them to roll the rocket back to the vehicle assembly building. WATCHES | NASA cancels moon launch for second time
NASA cancels moon launch for second time
The launch of Artemis 1, NASA’s uncrewed mission around the Moon, was canceled again this weekend after crews were unable to fix a liquid hydrogen leak. But now NASA officials are confident they are ready to go. “If we weren’t sure, we wouldn’t be launching,” Jim Free, associate administrator in the space agency’s space exploration systems development directorate, said on a media call Thursday. See the first images of pic.twitter.com/epni1Q2B95 —@nasahqphoto The goal of this mission, Artemis I, is to test the new rocket and test the capabilities of the Orion capsule that sits atop the rocket, which will one day return astronauts to the moon. No one will be on board, except for mannequins who will be placed there to test equipment, including a newly developed vest designed to protect astronauts from space radiation. Artemis II is scheduled to launch in 2024. This mission will see four astronauts – including a Canadian – orbit the moon and then return to Earth. “This is a challenging mission. We’ve seen challenges in getting all our systems to work together, and that’s why we’re doing a flight test,” Free said of the uncrewed Artemis I mission. “We’re going to go after things that can’t be modeled. And we’re learning by taking more risk on this mission before we put a crew there.” NASA had hoped to launch in daylight rather than the early hours of the morning to better see how the rocket performed, but insisted that ultimately would not make a difference to the test. “Visual references are obviously what you’re missing, in terms of launching at night, but obviously we have [infrared cameras]” said Cliff Lanham, senior director of vehicle operations with NASA’s ground exploration systems program. “But we have a large number of cameras that we’ll continue to get footage from.” Meanwhile, NASA says it is tracking a developing storm in the Atlantic Ocean.
