Teams begin to pull out the “kitchen drawer” platforms surrounding the first rocket that will launch NASA’s Artemis mission toward the moon.
Pulling back the platforms surrounding the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida is an essential step to send the rocket and spacecraft safely to the launch pad on March 17 before the Artemis 1 launch, which is expected to occur. No before May.
uninhabited Artemis 1 It will send the Orion spacecraft around the moon, to make sure that both the SLS and Orion are ready for manned missions. first crew Artemis The Artemis 2 mission will send astronauts around the moon in 2024, if all goes according to plan. Artemis 3 will land people on the moon no later than 2025, although liftoff is likely to take place in 2026. some issues Determined by the Inspector General of NASA.
NASA said March 2 that the focus for now is Artemis 1, and preparations are continuing to prepare the SLS and Orion for launch. Blog post. “Teams continue to install the hardware on the dual SLS solid rocket boosters inside the VAB,” the post stated, referring to the cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC.
Related: NASA’s Artemis 1 moon mission explained in pictures
These sensors will allow engineers to virtually ride with the rocket and spacecraft as they cruise four miles (6.5 kilometers) to Launch Complex 39B and monitor mission progress as it prepares for launch.
Once on board, the SLS-Orion stack will send a slew of data about systems including the rocket, spacecraft and ground gear. Fuel loading and other pad activities will also be captured.
The SLS-Orion stack still needs to pass a file wet rehearsal – A test run of most of the steps that will be completed on launch day – to be ready to take off. Artemis 1 has been launched I paid several times Due to technical issues and other scheduling factors. The rehearsal is scheduled for about two weeks after Artemis 1 arrives at the plate, putting the action in late March at the earliest.
If the Artemis program succeeds, it will be the first set of missions to put humans on the moon since the half-dozen Apollo flights that landed on the moon between 1969 and 1972. The 50th anniversary of the last manned mission to the moon, Apollo 17, It will be in December 2022.
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