With launch potentially just three weeks away, the agency is working tirelessly to get the SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft, and the Artemis 2 crew ready for liftoff.
It’s official: NASA plans to roll its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft out to the launch pad on Saturday. The move will signal the final stage of preparation for the Artemis 2 mission, which will send astronauts beyond Earth’s orbit and around the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era.
In a Friday update, NASA said it could take up to 12 hours for the SLS to complete the 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) journey from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center to Launch Pad 39B. Teams are working 24/7 to complete the necessary tasks ahead of rollout, but it could be pushed back if they need more time for technical preparations or if the weather interferes.
“We have important steps remaining on our path to launch and crew safety will remain our top priority at every turn, as we near humanity’s return to the Moon,” Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said in the statement.
If the agency can complete these steps without any major complications, Artemis 2 could launch as soon as February 6.
How did I not know this was happening? God, it’s like the few bits of good/cool news we get is all buried under the horror and rage.
It just doesn’t feel as exciting as it should be. It feels more like a distraction from everything else. With all the cuts to NASA’s budget, I’m just waiting for them to cancel the whole Artemis program…
I know this is just semantics, but is it really “beyond earth’s orbit”? If the moon orbits the earth, then isn’t the moon still in earth’s orbit?
It’s technically correct when referring to what body the ship itself is orbiting though weirdly worded I’ll admit. Humans have not orbited another body besides earth since Apollo 17 in 1972. Though I don’t think this mission will actually orbit the moon in the traditional sense and is more of a manned flyby. Still, they’ll be captured into lunar orbit even if they’re effectively going to turn around and go home right after by not completing orbital insertion.
