NASA's Artemis I test flight to the Moon is finally underway

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is finally on its way to the Moon, over 11 weeks after its originally scheduled launch was scrapped.

The uncrewed spacecraft was deployed yesterday from NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), claimed to be the most powerful rocket in the world, in the first leg of a mission to travel over 64,000 km beyond the Moon and return to Earth over the course of 25.5 days.

Known as Artemis I, the mission is a critical part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, and an important test for the agency before flying astronauts on the Artemis II mission. The plan is to eventually land the first woman and the first person of colour on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a stepping stone on the way to Mars.

Engineers previously rolled the SLS rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on 26 September ahead of Hurricane Ian, after waving off previous launch attempts on 29 August due to a faulty temperature sensor and on 4 September due to a liquid hydrogen leak at an interface between the rocket and mobile launcher. Prior to rolling back to the VAB, teams successfully repaired the leak and demonstrated updated tanking procedures. While in the VAB, teams performed standard maintenance to repair minor damage to the foam and cork on the thermal protection system and recharge or replace batteries throughout the system.

The SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on 4 November, where they rode out Hurricane Nicole. Following the storm, teams conducted thorough assessments of the rocket, spacecraft and associated ground systems, and confirmed there were no significant impacts from the severe weather. This enabled the SLS to lift off for its flight test debut on 16 November.

“What an incredible sight to see NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft launch together for the first time,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “This uncrewed flight test will push Orion to the limits in the rigors of deep space, helping us prepare for human exploration on the Moon and, ultimately, Mars.”

After reaching its initial orbit, Orion deployed its solar arrays and engineers began performing checkouts of the spacecraft’s systems. About 1.5 hours into flight, the rocket’s upper-stage engine successfully fired for approximately 18 minutes to give Orion the big push needed to send it out of Earth orbit and towards the Moon.

Orion has now separated from its upper stage and is on its outbound coast to the Moon powered by its service module, which is a propulsive powerhouse provided by the European Space Agency. The service module will perform a series of burns to keep Orion on course towards the Moon, while mission controllers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center will conduct additional checkouts and course corrections over the coming days as needed. Orion is expected to fly by the Moon on 21 November, performing a close approach of the lunar surface on its way to a distant retrograde orbit — a highly stable orbit thousands of kilometres beyond the Moon.

“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.”

A series of 10 small science investigations and technology demonstrations, called CubeSats, are also set to deploy from a ring that connected the upper stage to the spacecraft. Each CubeSat has its own mission that has the potential to fill gaps in our knowledge of the solar system or demonstrate technologies that may benefit the design of future missions to explore the Moon and beyond.

“The Space Launch System rocket delivered the power and performance to send Orion on its way to the Moon,” said Mike Sarafin, Artemis I Mission Manager. “With the accomplishment of the first major milestone of the mission, Orion will now embark on the next phase to test its systems and prepare for future missions with astronauts.”

Image caption: NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launches on the Artemis I flight test on Wednesday, 16 November 2022 at 1:47 am EST, from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Image courtesy of NASA/Joel Kowsky under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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