Spectators watch as the Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket lifts off from launch pad 39B at NASA’s … [+]
NASA’s new Orion spacecraft has at last been blasted into space on a 25-day journey around the Moon by the space agency’s biggest rocket ever in a spectacular night launch.
Lifting off at 1:47 a.m. EST (06:47 UTC from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, November 16, 2022, the successful launch of the Artemis I mission was the first successful journey for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
It came after a nail-biting delay for a small liquid hydrogen leak that pushed back the launch by 41 minutes.
The first attempt was scrubbed on August 29 due to a sensor suggesting that one of the vehicle’s four RS-25 engines was the wrong temperature. Another on September 3 was canned after issues with a fuel leak while an attempt on November 14 was called-off in advance after Tropical Storm Nicole brought rain and high winds to the Florida Space Coast.
With no such problems this time around the SLS launched and reached its point of greatest atmospheric force within 90 seconds, coming through unscathed. After two minutes 11 seconds the solid rocket boosters successfully separated.
A time exposure shows the path of the Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket as it lifts off from launch … [+]
The core stage then separated from Orion, leaving the spacecraft—connected to a European Service Model (ESM) and a propulsion stage—to orbit Earth and deploy its solar arrays.
About 1.5 hours into flight, the rocket’s upper stage engine successfully fired for around 18 minutes to propel Orion out of Earth orbit and toward the Moon.
Orion will enter an elliptical orbit of the Moon that will see it get to within 62 miles above its surface (expected to occur on November 21, 2022) and about 40,000 miles beyond it.
That’s farther than any spacecraft built for astronauts has ever flown. However, this is an uncrewed test flight.
Spectators cheer as the Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket lifts off from launch pad 39B at NASA’s … [+]
After completing its 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers) journey, the Orion spacecraft due to splash down on Sunday, December 11, 2022, in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego.
“It’s taken a lot to get here, but Orion is now on its way to the Moon,” said Jim Free, NASA deputy associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. “This successful launch means NASA and our partners are on a path to explore farther in space than ever before for the benefit of humanity.”
The SLS is the largest rocket constructed since the agency’s Saturn V “Moon rocket” was last used in 1973. Standing 322 ft. high, the SLS is also a “Moon rocket,” showing off its 8.8 million pounds (3.9 million kg) of thrust as it lifted the Orion capsule into orbit.
Artemis-1 is the first of three Artemis missions on the schedule, with Artemis II in 2024 slated to take four crew and Artemis III due to take two astronauts— the first woman and the first person of color—to the lunar surface in 2025 or later.
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
