Artemis' launch

2022 - 8 - 26

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Smithsonian"

What You Need to Know About NASA's Artemis 1 Launch (Smithsonian)

The uncrewed test flight is phase one of the space agency's historic return to the moon.

A fourth try in June [finally worked](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/06/artemis-1-wdr-4/): NASA loaded the rocket’s fuel tanks and ran through a countdown of the ten minutes before launch, until T-29 seconds. [Orlando Sentinel](https://www.orlandosentinel.com/space/os-bz-nasa-artemis-i-launch-attempt-date-announced-20220720-ca3w7r4r3vgkbmqtt7qpixqxx4-story.html)’s Richard Tribou. Still, “SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and cargo directly to the Moon on a single mission,” per [NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/fs/sls.html). [three mannequins will travel to deep space](https://www.businessinsider.com/nasas-artemis-1-rocket-sending-quirky-cargo-moon-and-back-2022-8). As for which of these sites will be the destination, that will depend on the launch date. Another [contains yeast](https://www.space.com/artemis-1-cubesat-biosentinel-deep-space-yeast) to measure how space radiation affects living cells. To build it, NASA [contracted several companies](https://www.wired.com/story/nasa-finally-rolls-out-its-massive-sls-rocket-with-much-at-stake/)—Northrop Grumman worked on the boosters, Aerojet Rocketdyne built the engines, and Boeing built the rocket’s orange core stage. One of these cubesats will use a [solar sail](https://www.planetary.org/articles/what-is-solar-sailing) to propel it to a near-Earth asteroid, which it will photograph. [soar through space](https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/artemis-i-map) powered by the [Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage](https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/fs/ICPS.html) (ICPS), a 45-foot long cylindrical system with one engine. [32 stories tall](https://www.techtimes.com/articles/279085/20220812/nasa-will-land-moon-first-time-in-50-years-everything-you-need-to-know-about-artemis-1-mission.htm) and weighs nearly 6 million pounds. [fastest reentry of any capsule built for humans](https://gizmodo.com/nasa-s-moonikin-will-boldly-go-where-no-test-dummy-ha-1847114263). As Orion flies toward the moon, a service module provided by the European Space Agency will [course-correct as needed](https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i-press-kit/).

WATCH LIVE: NASA's moon-bound Artemis 1 mission to launch new ... (PBS NewsHour)

Humans will be one step closer to making a giant leap back to the moon with the launch of NASA's Artemis 1 mission. This uncrewed test flight, ...

[according to Greek myth](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Callisto-Greek-mythology), was a hunting companion to Artemis) will be set up on the Orion spacecraft. “To all of us that gaze up at the moon, dreaming of the day humankind returns to the lunar surface — folks, we’re here. Time will tell whether and to what degree the Artemis 1 mission successfully carries out its objectives. Moonikin Campos will be strapped into the commander’s seat during the mission and wear a spacesuit designed for future Artemis astronauts, according to NASA. [Helga and Zohar](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/orion-passengers-on-artemis-i-to-test-radiation-vest-for-deep-space-missions) designed to represent adult females. 29, will send a novel spacecraft — designed to eventually transport astronauts on deep-space missions — on a six-week journey around the moon and back to Earth. 3 briefing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37tnhg4H5Xo). The re-entry will be faster and hotter than any spacecraft that’s come before it, Nelson said, noting that Orion will hit the planet’s atmosphere at 32 times the speed of sound. Humans will be one step closer to making a giant leap back to the moon with the launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 mission. The pair will blast off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida before Orion eventually detaches from the rocket to begin its solo journey toward the moon, traveling further than any prior spacecraft designed for humans, Nelson said. The spacecraft’s large, technologically advanced heat shield is designed to protect it throughout that journey. In addition to inaugurating a new era of lunar missions, researchers involved with the Artemis program have an eye on future exploration that involves humans traveling further into the unforgiving, high-radiation terrain of space than ever before, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said during [an Aug.

Weather could interfere with the Artemis I launch (CNN)

When it comes to launching Artemis I, forecasting the weather is a crucial part of its success. NASA forecaster Mark Burger describes the rigorous process ...

"There are some concerns, but for now we have a fair opportunity to launch." "Sometimes going back as far as four hours to producing lightning then could potentially be a no-go situation." A launch could also be scrubbed when thunderstorms are in the vicinity. We forecast seas and waves all the way from New Orleans to the Cape." Meteorologists have been working for years for a near-perfect forecast to allow for this mission's 40,000-mile trip beyond the moon and back to Earth. "Roughly 16% of every launch attempt we have at Cape Canaveral gets scrubbed due to weather," said Burger, who has 23 years of forecast experience.

NASA's launch countdown for the Artemis 1 moon mission begins ... (Space.com)

The countdown is ready to begin for NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission with the SLS megarocket and Orion spacecraft.

Follow us [@Spacedotcom](http://twitter.com/spacedotcom), The ultimate goal, NASA has said, is to fly yearly missions to the moon after Artemis 3, stage crewed landings from a [Gateway space station](https://www.space.com/43018-lunar-orbital-platform-gateway.html) in lunar orbit and then aim for crewed flights to [Mars](https://www.space.com/47-mars-the-red-planet-fourth-planet-from-the-sun.html). [Read more about it](https://www.space.com/estes-nasa-model-rocket-deal-save-18-percent). [Space Force](https://www.space.com/42089-space-force.html)'s Space Launch Delta 45 weather group. [Artemis 1 mission](https://www.space.com/artemis-1-going-back-to-the-moon), an ambitious first flight to the moon by the agency's most powerful rocket ever — the [Space Launch System](https://www.space.com/33908-space-launch-system.html) (SLS) — and its [Orion spacecraft](https://www.space.com/27824-orion-spacecraft.html). You can [watch the Artemis 1 moon mission launch live online](https://www.space.com/nasa-artemis-1-sls-moon-rocket-launch-webcasts), courtesy of NASA TV. Engineers closed the hatch on the Orion capsule for the last time on Thursday (Aug. EDT (1030 GMT). The mission flight will send an uncrewed Orion capsule on a 42-day trip to orbit the moon and return to Earth to test if the spacecraft is ready to carry astronauts. EDT (1423 GMT) today (Aug. [solar system](https://www.space.com/16080-solar-system-planets.html)," Jim Free, NASA's associate administrator for exploration systems development, told reporters here in a briefing Friday. 27), the countdown clock will start ticking down to the planned launch of NASA's

How to watch NASA's Artemis I SLS rocket launch (The Verge)

During its first launch, the SLS will catapult NASA's Orion capsule into space, where it will embark on a voyage around the Moon that could take anywhere from ...

You can also get some updates and [watch a livestream of the launch](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/alexa-take-me-to-the-moon) from Alexa-enabled devices. Besides the launch itself, NASA is planning to have some special guests during the broadcast. The countdown to the launch starts on Saturday, August 27th, at 10:23AM ET. This highly anticipated rocket launch has been [over a decade in the making](https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/17/22978972/nasa-sls-monster-rocket-roll-out-florida-history) and marks NASA’s return to crewed missions to the moon. [almost ready for liftoff](https://www.theverge.com/23321544/nasa-artemis-sls-orion-explained). NASA plans on launching the SLS rocket on Monday, August 29th, 2022.

NASA Starts Countdown To Historic Artemis Launch (Forbes)

The unmanned mission is expected to take 42 days and travel 1.3 million miles on its journey around the moon's orbit.

Space Force](https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2022/08/26/weather-remains-70-favorable-teams-on-track-to-begin-countdown-saturday/) meteorologists were forecasting a 70% chance of fair conditions at the Kennedy Space Center during the two-hour launch window. In addition to providing astronomical data, NASA has said the Artemis program will create tens of thousands of jobs and put a woman and a person of color on the moon, creating a “long-term presence on the moon” and understanding how it could eventually “establish a community” on Mars. The [National Weather Service](https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=mlb&zmx=1&zmy=1&map.x=216&map.y=94#.YwojJ3bMI2w) expects showers and thunderstorms Monday, with an 80% chance of precipitation. In 2021, NASA [committed](https://www.inverse.com/innovation/spacex-starship-nasa-new-concept-art) to using SpaceX’s Starship as a lunar landing vehicle for its Artemis 3 mission, under a $2.9 billion contract. NASA had initially planned to put humans on the moon in 2024, but delayed the plan after it went roughly $2 billion NASA’s primary concern is rain, which could delay the launch to one of two backup windows scheduled for Friday, September 2 and Monday, September 5. The highly anticipated Artemis 3 mission is planned to be the first time humans land on the moon since the final Apollo mission in 1972. [NASA's launch countdown for the Artemis 1 moon mission begins today](https://www.space.com/artemis-1-moon-mission-nasa-launch-countdown) (Space.com) [Where And When To Watch NASA Launch The Most Powerful Rocket Ever Made As Artemis-1 Mission Looms](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/08/24/artemis-1-exactly-when-where-and-how-to-watch-nasa-launch-the-most-powerful-rocket-ever-made/?sh=2fa10a75590c) (Forbes) [7 Things You Need To Know About Monday’s Most Impressive NASA Launch Since The Space Shuttle](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/08/26/7-things-you-need-to-know-about-mondays-most-important-nasa-launch-since-the-space-shuttle/?sh=59811eae726e) (Forbes) [Kathryn Hambleton](https://images.nasa.gov/details-KSC-20220826-AU-LMM01-0001-Artemis_I_Industry_Briefing-3312083) called the mission a “flight test that will provide the foundation for human exploration in deep space and demonstrate NASA’s commitment and capability to extend human presence to the moon and beyond.” NASA started its countdown clock Saturday for the launch of Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight around the moon that is a first step in an ambitious program to bring humans back to the moon for the first time in 50 years, and explore the possibility of living there and on Mars. The program to take humans back to the moon has been decades in the making, but has been subject to delays and obstacles related to funding. [most powerful](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-moon-rocket-artemis-mission/) NASA has ever [built](https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/infographics/corestage101.html)—slightly [taller](https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-the-space-launch-system-k4.html) than the Statue of Liberty.