Countdown begins for NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission and maiden flight of SLS megarocket

[RV_]

The rocket contracted by NASA to do the moon missions does its shakedown flight tomorrow! It is the same everything as the manned missions but for this and the second test run they will have dummies in place of the humans then the human missions will go if all proves out.

Excerpt:

"Countdown clocks began ticking Saturday for the maiden launch of NASA new Space Launch System rocket Monday on a long-awaited mission to send an unpiloted Orion crew capsule around the moon and back.

Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, NASA's first female launch director, called her team to their stations in Firing Room 1 at the Kennedy Space Center and began the carefully-scripted 46-hour, 10-minute countdown at 10:23 a.m. EDT.

"At this time, we are not working any significant issues," she told reporters in a pre-flight news conference. "So I'm happy to report that and everything is proceeding on schedule."

Shortly after the briefing, lightning struck two of the three 600-foot-tall protective towers around the SLS rocket at launch pad 39B. The strike prompted a review of data to make sure no sensitive electrical systems were affected, but initial checks indicated the strikes were "low magnitude."

If all goes well, engineers working by remote control plan to start pumping 750,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel into the giant SLS rocket's core stage at 12:18 a.m. EDT Monday, setting the stage for blastoff at 8:33 a.m., the opening of a two-hour window. Forecasters are predicting a 70 percent chance of good weather.

The unpiloted 42-day test flight of the $4.1 billion SLS rocket and Orion crew capsule is a major milestone in NASA's push to return astronauts to the surface of the moon for long-term exploration and to test equipment and procedures needed for eventual multi-year flights to Mars.

"With the Artemis 1 launch on Monday, NASA is at a historic inflection point, poised to begin the most significant series of science and human exploration missions in over a generation," said Bhavya Lal, NASA associate administrator for technology, policy and strategy.

"We are making sure that the agency's architecture for human exploration is grounded in a long-term strategic vision, that of sustained U.S. presence on the moon, Mars and throughout the solar system."

But mission manager Mike Sarafin cautioned, "This is a test flight. We're mindful that this is a purposeful stress test of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket. It is a new creation, it is a new rocket and a new spacecraft to send humans to the moon on the very next flight.

"This is something that has not been done in over 50 years and it is incredibly difficult. We will learn a great deal from the Artemis 1 test flight ... We understand that there's a lot of excitement about this, but the team is very focused."

One question mark going into the countdown is the status of a 4-inch liquid hydrogen quick-disconnect fitting that leaked during a practice countdown and fueling test June 20.

The fitting was repaired after the rocket was hauled back to NASA's assembly building. But hydrogen leaks typically don't show up unless the equipment is exposed to cryogenic temperatures — in this case, minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit — and that won't happen until fueling is underway Monday morning.

If a leak is detected that violates safety standards, the launch will be scrubbed. But Blackwell-Thompson said she is confident the fitting will work normally."

Much Much more in the article here:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/artemis-launch-moon-sls-rocket-mission-maiden-flight/?intcid=CNI-00-10aaa3a

Edited August 28, 2022 by RV_

[Kirk W]

What a followup to the success of the James Webb telescope. We are back in the space business! 

Zero hour' for Artemis 1: NASA's most powerful rocket to launch risky moon mission test flight

Liftoff is set for 8:33 a.m. EDT (1233 GMT) from Pad 39B here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. You can watch the launch live online Monday starting at at 6:30 a.m. EDT (1030 GMT). 

[Dutch_12078]

The Artemis 1 mission has been pushed back to at least Friday due to an anomaly with engine #3.

 https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/29/world/nasa-artemis-1-launch-scn/index.html

[Kirk W]

Quote

The launch of NASA's historic Artemis I moon mission has been postponed after the team was unable to work through an issue with one of the rocket's four engines.

The next opportunity to send the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft on their journey is September 2, but whether or not another attempt is made that day depends on how testing goes.

 

[Dutch_12078]

Maybe fitting Artemis 1 with used engines wasn't such a good idea after all.

[RV_]

5 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

Maybe fitting Artemis 1 with used engines wasn't such a good idea after all.

Dutch, good point. I was wondering why they used refurbished Space Shuttle engines rather that build new since this project has been ongoing for ten years now:

"Those Artemis I RS-25 engines are all refurbished from the Space Shuttle Program, as will be engines used for the first four SLS launches including Artemis III, which could as early as 2024 send humans, including the first woman, back to the surface of the moon for the first time since 1972."

I thought they were going to use new engines since they are developing a test engine to see about reducing the cost of the building those engines with new manufacturing tech.

"The Thursday test, though, was for RS-25 engines that will be newly constructed by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The developmental engine was put on Stennis’ A-1 Test Stand. This engine won’t be used on a future space launch, but is being used to gather data for those engines construction.

Of concern is new techniques that are meant to cut time and cost of engine production. The test series will qualify those methods to ensure a safe product in the future."

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/space/os-bz-nasa-sls-engine-test-20210129-bmzbo7v63reinizrqqs3okr6ay-story.html

I would think they would have done those several years ago and done certification testing in the ten years since they started developing the SLS project in 2012.

"Despite the delays, and absorbing much of NASA’s relatively small budget by federal agency standards, the Artemis program has enjoyed strong bipartisan political support.

Officials in 2012 estimated that the SLS rocket would cost $6 billion to develop, debut in 2017 and carry a $500 million per launch price tag. But the rocket is only just now debuting, having cost more than $20 billion to develop, and its per launch price tag has ballooned to $4.1 billion."

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/27/nasas-artemis-1-mission-what-you-should-know-about-sls-orion.html

This reminds me of the ULA still using Russian RD-180 rocket engines for their Atlas Space station missions. One of the reasons we had our astronauts hitching rides to and from for a few years until Space X had their engines made by them certified for use then for human transport:

"ULA, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, relies on the RD-180 engine to power its Atlas V rocket, per The Verge. The plan is for the engine of ULA's new Vulcan rocket to be produced by Blue Origin, though delays are said to have caused frustration.

Musk's comments came after Russia stopped supplying rocket engines to the US in retaliation for sweeping sanctions over the country's invasion of Ukraine.

Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian space agency, said previously: "In a situation like this, we can't supply the United States with our world's best rocket engines. Let them fly on something else, their broomsticks, I don't know what."

https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-russian-rocket-engines-great-boeing-lockheed-martin-2022-3

Oh well I hope they can succeed and soon.

 

[2gypsies]

I would think they'd know better than us as to why they used the engine.  😁

[RV_]

5 minutes ago, 2gypsies said:

I would think they'd know better than us as to why they used the engine.  😁

Of course they do 2 gypsies. But we get to watch, no?🖖

[Ray,IN]

I wonder if this had anything to do with not being able to obtain Russian engines any longer?

[RV_]

16 minutes ago, Ray,IN said:

I wonder if this had anything to do with not being able to obtain Russian engines any longer?

Nope this project came long before the recent sanctions on Russia. These are made by a California company called Aerojet Rocketdyne.

https://www.bing.com/search?form=MOZLBR&pc=MOZI&q=Who+makes+the+RS-25++engine

[Ray,IN]

Thanks Derek, I never did think relying on Russia, or any other nation, for space travel was a sound decision.

[RV_]

I believe the launch vehicle is from ULA ( United Launch Alliance Boeing and Lockheed) no?

[Kirk W]

Artemis I's next launch attempt may not happen until later this year

NASA will not pursue a launch of Artemis I for the remainder of the launch period, which ends on Tuesday, according to an update from the agency after a second scrubbed launch attempt Saturday.

Future launch periods, including those in September and October, depend on what the team decides early next week, but this results in a minimum of delays consisting of at least several weeks.

"We will not be launching in this launch period," said Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. "We are not where we wanted to be."

Free said the stack, including the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft, has to roll back into the Vehicle Assembly Building, unless they get a waiver from the range, which is run by the US Space Force.

[Chalkie]

14 hours ago, RV_ said:

I believe the launch vehicle is from ULA ( United Launch Alliance Boeing and Lockheed) no?

The boosters are from Northrop Grumman and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage is from ULA and all the others have some part or another. Wiki lists all these as the spacecraft manufacturer "Boeing Airbus Defence and Space Lockheed Martin Northrop Grumman Aerojet Rocketdyne".

[Ray,IN]

Man_that's a mouthful.