NASA is preparing to launch Artemis 1, the first of three projected missions in their Artemis program. NASA’s Artemis Program was formally established in December 2017 during the Trump administration. Artemis 1 aims to test the Orion and ensure safe module functions using mannequins to simulate people, ensuring Artemis 3’s goal of sending the first woman of color to the Moon. The SLS rocket intends to launch the uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a mission about 42 days long, where it will orbit the Moon and beyond in a 1.3 million mile journey before returning. The main goals of the program include: setting up the groundwork for human exploration on Mars, researching water ice at the Moon’s south pole, creating permanent bases on the Moon, and studying the lunar surface in more detail. However, technical and weather issues delay U.S. efforts to return to the Moon after five decades.
The Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion capsule’s lift-off was initially scheduled for August 29, 2022. However, it was postponed after engineers encountered technical setbacks, including two hydrogen leaks, faulty engine-cooling systems, and delayed fuel tank operations due to lightning. “We’ll go when it’s ready. We [won’t] go until then, and especially now on a test flight,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in televised comments after the scrub. “This is part of the space business.” Although the first installment of NASA’s $40 billion program is now five years behind, Astronaut Victor Glover says the decision to delay takeoff is “not a letdown,” seeing that “these [are] really incredibly complex machines that we want to try to integrate human beings in.” Multiple tests have been run in the meantime, with the Moon rocket completing a critical fueling assessment on September 21.
To the disappointment of many, the recently determined September 27 launch has been postponed yet again over concerns about Hurricane Ian’s imminent touchdown in Florida. The SLS rocket has been moved four miles away from Launch Pad 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for protection at Kennedy Space Center. NASA associate administrator Jim Free is interested in replacing “limited life” components that need to be refreshed or checked periodically, such as batteries or propellant tanks. “It’s just a challenge to think: ‘Can we get in there and get back out there for another launch attempt,’” Free said in a Tuesday press briefing. “We don’t want to go out too fast, and then we’re stuck in a situation where maybe we didn’t get to all the limited life items we want to.” Those following the lift-off have recently shifted concerns toward Ian’s status being just shy of a Category 5 hurricane, as measured by the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Thomas Sprigg Wootton High School Student Justin Kim called the situation “beyond devastating,” and he wishes “safety to everyone impacted by the storm.”
The launch is currently planned to happen no earlier than mid-October in what is NASA’s third scrub of the month, as engineers continue testing while employees take time to ensure their families are safe from Ian.
Written by Allison Zhang of Thomas S. Wootton High School
Graphic courtesy of Cas Nguyen of Richard Montgomery High School