NASA via Getty Images
Tropical Storm Nicole’s advance on Florida’s Space Coast has forced NASA to once again delay the launch of its landmark Artemis I mission to the Moon. However, it will still be an impressive night launch.
Having made landfall as a Category 1 storm, though later downgraded to a tropical storm, Nicole brought sustained winds, rain and power outages to Florida on Thursday, just four days before the scheduled launch of Artemis I on Monday, November 14. at 12:07 am EST.
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion capsule — already on the launch pad — experienced winds of 100 mph, higher than the 85 mph the hardware is designed to handle, NASA said.
The mission will now launch—weather permitting—on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 at 1:04 AM. EST. It’s a two hour window which means shipping takes 25 days. NASA also announced a backup launch opportunity on Saturday, November 19, 2022.
The Artemis I mission is the first test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems — SLS and the Orion space capsule — together. The latter will be uncrewed for this test flight, although the Artemis II mission—scheduled for 2023—will carry four astronauts on an identical trip around the Moon and back.
If successfully launched on November 16, then the Orion capsule will launch on Sunday, December 11, 2022.
This composite of ten images shows the Moon’s progress during a total lunar eclipse… [+] above the Vehicle Assembly Building, November 8, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Visible following the Moon in this composite is Mars. Photo: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
(NASA/Joel Kowsky)
Planned launches in late August and early September were both scrubbed due to technical issues before Hurricane Ian prevented launch attempts in late September and early October.
Artemis I failed to launch for the second time on September 3, 2022 from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after the SLS suffered a leak in a liquid hydrogen valve. The previous crash on August 29 was due to a faulty sensor in an engine cooling system.
When Artemis I finally lifts off, it will begin a journey of 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers) around the Moon and back again. Orion will enter an elliptical orbit around the Moon that will see them come within 62 miles of its surface and about 40,000 miles beyond it. That’s farther than any spacecraft built for astronauts has ever flown. It will then return for an even closer flyby of the Moon on the way home.
SLS is the largest rocket ever built—and that includes the agency’s Saturn V “Moon Rocket,” which was last used in 1973. At 322 feet tall, SLS is also a “Moon Rocket” with an 8.8 million pounds (3.9 million kg) of thrust.
Artemis I is the first of three missions in the program, with Artemis II in 2024 carrying a crew of four and Artemis III carrying two astronauts to the lunar surface in 2025 or later.
I wish you clear skies and open eyes.
