(NASA/Joel Kowsky) The space agency NASA surprised everyone by unveiling the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket a few days ahead of schedule. In preparation for the planned launch of the Artemis-1 mission to the Moon on August 29, 2022 – and the first test for SLS – the launch vehicle was gradually transferred to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida from its famous old Crawler NASA- transporter 2. At 322 feet tall, the SLS will be the world’s most powerful rocket to launch since the last Saturn V “Moon rocket” launched the Skylab space station into Earth orbit in 1973. NASA’s Artemis I Moon rocket launches at Launch Pad Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, in … [+] Cape Canaveral, Florida, August 16, 2022. – Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight, will feature the first blast of the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will be the most powerful in the world when it goes live. It will propel the Orion crew capsule into orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft will remain in space for 42 days before returning to Earth. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images It took nearly 11 hours for the rocket to make the trip from NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building – the tallest single-story building in the world at 526 feet. — at the launch point. The launch is the precursor to a launch that will mark the beginning of humanity’s return to the Moon. The last humans to step on the lunar surface were Apollo 17 astronauts Jack Schmitt and Gene Cernan in 1972. NASA’s Artemis I Moon rocket launches at Launch Pad Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, in … [+] Cape Canaveral, Florida, August 16, 2022. – Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight, will feature the first blast of the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will be the most powerful in the world when it goes live. It will propel the Orion crew capsule into orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft will remain in space for 42 days before returning to Earth. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images Although the Artemis-1 mission will not have a crew, it will test life support systems using mannequins ahead of Artemis-2 and Artemis-3, the latter of which will bring the first woman and first person of color to the surface of the Moon . Artemis-1 is an uncrewed flight test mission in which NASA’s Orion spacecraft, European Service Model (ESM) and SLS will fly to the Moon. CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – AUGUST 16: In this handout image provided by NASA, NASA’s Space Launch System … [+] (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft boards atop a mobile launcher as the crew access arm rotates into position for deployment on Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on August 16, 2022 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA’s Artemis I mission is the first comprehensive test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems, which includes the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket and ground support systems. The start of unmanned flight testing is targeted no earlier than August 29. (Photo by Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images) NASA via Getty Images The spacecraft and rocket will launch, orbit Earth, and then send Orion and ESM into an elliptical orbit around the Moon that will see them come within 62 miles of the Moon’s surface and about 40,000 miles beyond her. That’s farther than any human-built spacecraft has ever flown. The mission will last about three weeks with the Orion capsule launching from Baja, California immediately after the ESM is evacuated. NASA’s Artemis I Moon rocket launches at Launch Pad Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, in … [+] Cape Canaveral, Florida, August 16, 2022. – Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight, will feature the first blast of the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will be the most powerful in the world when it goes live. It will propel the Orion crew capsule into orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft will remain in space for 42 days before returning to Earth. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images Artemis-1 will launch on August 29, 2022. A launch window opens at 8:33 AM. EST for two hours. If successfully launched, then the Artemis-1 mission will last 42 days, launching off Baja, California on October 10, 2022. NASA previously said it could only launch the rocket on August 29 if it was at the launch site by August 18, 2022 — and now it is. However, other possible release dates include September 2nd and September 5th. NASA’s Artemis I Moon rocket launches at Launch Pad Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, in … [+] Cape Canaveral, Florida, August 16, 2022. – Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight, will feature the first blast of the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will be the most powerful in the world when it goes live. It will propel the Orion crew capsule into orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft will remain in space for 42 days before returning to Earth. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images Tentatively scheduled for 2024, Artemis-2 will be a repeat of Artemis-1, but with four astronauts on board to test Orion’s life support systems. The shorter 10-day mission will begin with a launch and two Earth orbits before going 4,600 miles beyond the far side of the Moon. Splashdown for Artemis-2 will take place in the Pacific Ocean. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft is shown at the top of the mobile … [+] launcher as it rolls into Launch Pad 39B, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis I flight test is the first comprehensive test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket and ground support systems. The start of unmanned flight testing is targeted no earlier than August 29. Photo: (NASA/Joel Kowsky) (NASA/Joel Kowsky) After that will come Artemis-3. A 30-day mission will see Orion – with four astronauts aboard – encounter an embryonic lunar orbital platform-gate, before a female astronaut and a male astronaut descend in a SpaceX Starship vehicle to the lunar surface near Shackleton Crater at the Moon’s south pole. The mission will include four spacewalks over 6.5 days. Guests and NASA employees watch the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion… [+] The spacecraft launches from Launch Vehicle Assembly Building 39B, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis I flight test is the first comprehensive test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, SLS rocket and ground support systems. The start of unmanned flight testing is targeted no earlier than August 29. Photo: (NASA/Joel Kowsky) (NASA/Joel Kowsky) It will be the first time astronauts have landed on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 left the Moon in December 1972. Astronauts for Artemis-3 will be selected in 2022. Further Artemis missions each year until 2030 will help build the Lunar Gateway housing module and land three more times on the lunar surface. I wish you clear skies and open eyes.
