The Space Launch System Is Expected To Launch Later This Month
NASA has been working towards the first Artemis missions for many years now. After all this time the first launch apart of Artemis 1 is expected to happen in only a few weeks. After completing the wet dress rehearsal and fixing a few complications along the way. NASA is confident that before the summer is over the Space Launch System will lift off for the first time.
This rocket is one of the most powerful in the world and is expected to carry both crew and cargo for future missions to the Moon and possibly Mars. Artemis I is a big first step prior to the missions that follow it with a crew and more ambitious plans. The success of this launch will have a major role in the future of human exploration and returning humans to the surface of the Moon.
Over the past few days, NASA has provided multiple updates on not only the current state of the rocket but also its upcoming schedule. This helps give us an idea of what to expect and what the agency has been working on. Here I will go more in-depth into the upcoming launch, some of the recent updates from NASA, and more.
Recent Updates
The updates began July 27th when NASA tweeted saying, “Commander Moonikin Campos was installed into @NASA_Orion ahead of the launch of #Artemis I. Named after Arturo Campos, a man who was instrumental to saving the Apollo 13 crew, he will measure vibrations and accelerations that future @NASAArtemis astronauts will experience.” This tweet included a short video of crews loading the test dummy into Orion in preparation for the launch. Since Artemis I will not use humans, Commander Moonikin is the next best thing. The next update was only a few days ago on the 1st when NASA tweeted mentioning, “Teams at @NASAKennedy are moving closer to finishing operations for the Space Launch System rocket and @NASA_Orion spacecraft for the #Artemis I launch.”
As of right now, with approximately one month until NASA’s first launch attempt for the Artemis I mission, teams move closer to finishing operations for the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA is currently targeting launch for no earlier than Monday, Aug. 29, at 8:33 a.m. EDT during a 2 hour window. A successful launch on Aug. 29 would result in a mission duration of about 42 days, returning Monday, Oct. 10. Engineers continue to progress through first time operations and are prepared to learn and adapt along the way. Teams have planned accordingly with additional launch opportunities on Sept. 2 and Sept. 5 if more than one launch attempt is needed. In terms of rocket progress, over the last few weeks, engineers successfully reconnected the hydrogen tail service mast umbilical where a hydrogen leak was detected during the last wet dress rehearsal test. Back in the middle of June, during propellant loading operations earlier in the day, launch controllers encountered a hydrogen leak in the quick disconnect that attaches an umbilical from the tail service mast on the mobile launcher to the rocket’s core stage. The team attempted to fix the leak by warming the quick disconnect and then chilling it back down to realign a seal, but their efforts did not fix the issue. Thankfully, recently teams tested the connection and did not detect any leaks under ambient conditions in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Up next, technicians will perform additional work to return the section to its launch configuration.
In addition to fixing the hydrogen leak, technicians finished installing the rocket’s flight batteries. As part of operations to prepare the flight termination system, engineers installed and tested the core stage flight command receiver decoders and also tested the solid rocket boosters’ automatic destruct units. Work continues to complete installation of the thermal protection system blankets on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and launch vehicle stage adapter. Following completion of the upper stage closeout work, teams will conduct flight closeout inspections, which includes removing access platforms and installing flight doors replacing the ground support equipment coverings on the core stage.
Teams also are replacing the inflatable seal between the mobile launcher’s crew access arm and Orion’s launch abort system after it experienced some minor damage due to inclement weather sustained while it was out at launch pad 39B for the wet dress rehearsal tests. The seal prevents anything from the outside environment from getting inside the capsule. Once the seal is replaced and tested, engineers will finish installing remaining payloads inside the crew module before SLS and Orion roll back out to the pad for launch. Finally, only a few hours ago, NASA tweeted again this time pointing out, “Yesterday, @NASA’s Artemis Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson announced final @NASA_Orion power-up, with hatch closure days away. @NASA_SLS Upper Stage, Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter, Core Stage Forward Skirt, & engine areas closed out.” These are all some of the final steps before the rocket is rolled back out to the pad and prepped for launch later this month.
SLS & Artemis I
There are a few things that make this rocket and mission stand out from any other launches within the last few decades. Jim Free, Associate Administrator highlighted that, “The launch of Artemis I marks a proud and powerful moment in NASA’s and the nation’s history. This flight test is the result of an unparalleled workforce, tireless engineering, advances in modern fabrication and computing, strong industry and international partnerships, and vital support from Congress and multiple administrations. The path to Artemis I has continued through historic events, including the global pandemic and devastating storms that broke records in both number and magnitude. Yet here we are, ready to launch!”
The star of the show is the Space Launch System. SLS is a super-heavy-lift rocket that provides the foundation for human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit. NASA evaluated thousands of combinations of attributes such as propulsion systems, stages, boosters, performance, development and operations cost, mission complexity, reliability and risks, and the ability to maintain industry base skills. The result was an evolvable rocket, available in crew or cargo configurations, with a proven propulsion system, that provides a safe launch capability for human exploration to deep space—the SLS rocket. While this rocket uses a lot of older technology and components, it still is expected to be capable of some incredible things. In order to fulfill America’s future needs for deep space missions, SLS is expected to evolve into increasingly more powerful configurations. SLS is designed for deep space missions and will send Orion or other cargo to the Moon, which is nearly 1,000 times farther than where NASA’s International Space Station resides in low-Earth orbit. The high-performance rocket will provide the power to help Orion reach a speed of 24,500 miles per hour—the speed needed to send it to the Moon.
Artemis I, the first integrated flight of SLS and Orion, uses the Block 1 configuration, which stands 322 feet, taller than the Statue of Liberty, and weighs 5.75 million lbs. During launch and ascent, SLS will produce 8.8 million lbs. of maximum thrust, 15 percent more thrust than the Saturn V rocket. Recently NASA tweeted saying, “Take a ride on the Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 3 elevator, and enjoy a stunning view of @NASA_SLS and @NASA_Orion, the rocket and spacecraft that will kick off humanity’s return to the Moon with Artemis I.” This tweet included a video taken within the elevator showing the Space Launch System. While sped up, it still gives a good perspective on how massive this rocket really is.
All of which are working towards the first launch only weeks away with Artemis I. During this flight, the spacecraft will launch on the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown. It will travel 280,000 miles from Earth, thousands of miles beyond the Moon over the course of about a four to six-week mission. Orion will stay in space longer than any ship for astronauts has done without docking to a space station and return home faster and hotter than ever before. “This is a mission that truly will do what hasn’t been done and learn what isn’t known,” said Mike Sarafin, Artemis I mission manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “It will blaze a trail that people will follow on the next Orion flight, pushing the edges of the envelope to prepare for that mission.”
Conclusion
After many years of preparations and months of tests, the Space Launch System is very close to its first ever launch. After the completion of the wet dress rehearsal not long ago, it was returned to the VAB where different repairs and preparations were worked on. Now some of the final steps are in place before it is rolled back to the pad for a launch later this month. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry.