NASA is still on target to launch its Artemis 1 moon rocket on Wednesday (November 16), but a few boxes need to be checked first.
Artemis 1will send an unmanned Orion capsule into lunar orbit using Space launch system (SLS) rocket is scheduled to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Wednesday at 1:04 a.m. EST (0604) in a two-hour window. And the mission team is confident that it can hit that target.
“I feel good about the effort on the 16th,” Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin said at a press briefing Sunday evening (Nov. 13) at NASA headquarters in Washington.
“The team is moving forward as a unit,” he said. “We have some work to do.”
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One of the highlights in this case will be the thin sealing strip called RTV that surrounds Orion. Sarafin said the RTV helps smooth out a small indentation in the capsule that can cause some unwanted circulation and air heating during flight.
Hurricane Nicole tore off part of that plug when it slammed into Florida’s Space Coast on Thursday (November 10), mission team members said. (The pile of Artemis 1 He endured Nicole’s angerIn the open air at KSC’s Pad 39B, weakened by a tropical storm shortly after landfall.)
Some of the RTV that fell from the storm could shake free during liftoff and pose a debris threat to the SLS, Sarafin said. The team is still investigating the nature and severity of this risk.
“We need to spend a little more time reviewing our flight fundamentals for this launch attempt, particularly as it relates to the remaining RTV and debris transport,” Sarafin said.
The Artemis 1 team isn’t too worried about the increased “air heating” around it Orion added due to loss of some RTV.
“As it pertains to the materials underlying that RTV, we have protection,” he said. “It’s an extra layer there to kind of create seamless airflow.”
The RTV problem cannot be solved on the launch pad because Orion sits much higher than SLS. If the team determines that the seal needs to be replaced, it will likely require a return to KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building.
In addition to the RTV analyses, the team plans to replace an electrical connector near the base of the SLS, which has been associated with some erratic readings. This can be done on the pad. That’s less of a problem because the rocket’s electrical systems have enough redundancy, Sarafin said.
“We have some well-written launch criteria that are very well thought out,” Sarafin said. Those criteria, he added, “will support flying despite what this connector can bring. That is, we hope to return to full functional capability.”
The Artemis 1 team will meet again on Monday (November 14) to discuss these and other issues. They plan to hold another briefing later that afternoon, so we’ll get an update on the situation and the latest thoughts at that time.
Artemis 1 will be the first flight for SLS and the second for Orion, which launched into Earth orbit on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket in 2014.
It will also be NASA’s first mission Artemis program Lunar exploration, aiming to establish a manned outpost near the Moon’s south pole by the end of the 2020s.
If all goes according to plan with Artemis 1, Artemis 2 will launch astronauts in 2024. month. Artemis 3 will put down boots near the Moon’s south pole in 2025 or 2026.
If Artemis 1 launches on Wednesday, it will last about 26 days. (Different launch dates result in different mission durations due to orbital dynamics.) Mother Nature must cooperate; there is a 90% chance of good weather on wednesday. If Artemis 1 cannot fly that day, NASA’s backup dates are November 1. 19 and November 25.
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).
