A crowd the size of a major American city could turn out to watch NASA’s Artemis 1 moon rocket lift off this weekend.
Artemis 1 It was scheduled to launch Monday morning (August 29) from the Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County, Florida. According to county officials (opens in new tab)Between 100,000 and 200,000 people flocked to the Space Coast to see the attempt, which was cleared by a problem with one of Artemis 1’s first-stage engines. Space launch system (SLS) rocket.
The mission team thinks the problem is a minor one, a faulty temperature sensor, and plans to move on. another ascent attempt on Saturday (September 3) 14:17 EDT (1817 GMT). It’s right in the middle of the Labor Day weekend, potentially allowing more people to see an unmanned launch firsthand.
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Indeed, Brevard County officials are expecting a large crowd — perhaps double what they saw Monday, from 200,000 to 400,000. This was reported by the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday (opens in new tab) (September 1). Other Space Coast officials agree with that estimate.
“We’re sure it’ll be more than Monday, as it’s four ship days in port, a landmark launch, a weekend launch and a holiday weekend – some of the main reasons why visitors come here packed with everything in one day.” until,” Meagan Happel, public affairs manager and film commissioner for Florida’s Space Coast Tourism Office, told Space.com via email. “So, yes, we plan to double our initial estimate depending on how much interest there is.”
For perspective: 400,000 people approx People of New Orleans or Tampa. That’s a lot of people to see a rocket launch, but it’s not just any old mission. Artemis 1 is the debut flight of the 322-foot-tall (98-meter) SLS, and it’s more powerful. Saturn Vthe iconic rocket that blasted the Apollo spacecraft toward the moon half a century ago.
This weekend’s launch will also be a first for NASA Artemis programand aims to create a permanent, sustainable human presence around it month By the end of the 2020s.
Artemis 1 will send an uncrewed Orion capsule to lunar orbit and back. The main goal is to show that SLS and Orion are ready to carry astronauts, which will begin in 2024 on the Artemis 2 mission around the Moon, if all goes according to plan.
Space.com editor Brett Tingley contributed to this report. Mike Wall is the author of “There (opens in new tab)” (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Carl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter. @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or where Facebook (opens in new tab).
