Spaceflight Now reported that a senior NASA official “raised concerns Wednesday that ‘difficulties’ with SpaceX’s development of the huge new Starship rocket could delay the Artemis program’s first moon landing with astronauts from late 2025, a mission that will use a derivative of the Starship vehicle to ferry a two-person crew to and from the lunar surface.” NASA’s Head of Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Jim Free “said SpaceX has much work to do before the Starship is cleared to land astronauts on the moon.” NASA currently has scheduled Artemis mission’s first human moon landing in 2025 on Artemis III. Free said, “For Artemis 3, I mentioned that December ‘25 is our current manifest date. But with the difficulties that SpaceX has had, I think that’s really concerning. So you can think about that slipping probably into ‘26.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Tag: Artemis 1
NASA Says SLS Megarocket Performed as Planned in First-Ever Launch
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SPACE reports that NASA officials said the agency’s “Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket hit all of its marks during its first-ever liftoff two weeks ago.” The Nov. 16 launch “kicked off NASA’s highly anticipated Artemis 1 mission, sending an uncrewed Orion capsule on a nearly 26-day trek to the moon and back. The SLS appeared to perform exactly as planned during the liftoff, and further analyses support those initial impressions, NASA officials announced on Wednesday.” Artemis mission manager Mike Sarafin said in a statement, “The first launch of the Space Launch System rocket was simply eye-watering. … While our mission with Orion is still underway and we continue to learn over the course of our flight, the rocket’s systems performed as designed and as expected in every case.”
Full Story (SPACE)
AIAA Statement on Successful Artemis I Launch
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 16, 2022 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) issued the following statement from AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher:
“Congratulations to the entire NASA/industry Artemis team on the successful launch of the Artemis I mission from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B. Witnessing this engineering marvel move from concept to production, and now to operation, is an inspirational moment for us today and for the Artemis generation. Kudos on this tremendous achievement!
We are excited to see our nation’s space program prepare to take the next steps toward the surface of the moon. The Artemis program provides a fundamental new capability enabling us to retain and grow U.S. leadership in space by establishing a sustainable presence on the moon in preparation for human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit.
We salute the lead contractors contributing to the success of Artemis: Lockheed Martin for the Orion spacecraft; Aerojet Rocketdyne, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Teledyne Brown for the powerful Space Launch System (SLS); and Jacobs for the Exploration Ground Systems. We also salute the European Space Agency and Airbus for their contribution to the Orion spacecraft, the European Service Module. We also commend the thousands of suppliers supporting these companies on the Artemis program.
AIAA recognizes the countless professionals across the aerospace industry involved from the earliest days of the Artemis program, including those AIAA professional and corporate members who have helped design, build, test, and operate this new system. Over the years, these innovators have chronicled their work by authoring articles for AIAA journals and meeting papers for AIAA forums. Their original research results and technological progress on Artemis have been published in AIAA’s Aerospace Research Central (ARC) at arc.aiaa.org. AIAA is committed to ensuring students and professionals have access to the most important advances in aerospace science and technology through ARC.
We applaud the entire NASA/industry Artemis team for shaping the future of aerospace.”
Media contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804.397.5270
Video
Launch of the Artemis I mission from NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B, 16 November 2022 at 1:04 a.m. EDT. (Launch takes place at the 3:17:08 mark)
(NASA; YouTube)
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
NASA Readies Artemis for Another Attempt
CBS News reports, “NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket, bedeviled by fuel leaks, unrelated glitches and finally by an approaching hurricane, headed back out to its launch pad late Thursday for another attempt to get the Artemis program’s unpiloted and oft-delayed maiden flight underway.” Engineers plan to try to launch the rocket again just past midnight on November 14.
Full Story (CBS News)
NASA’s Artemis I Set to Launch in November
CNET News reported, “NASA will roll Artemis I back to out the launchpad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as Nov. 4. The Nov. 14 attempt would mean a nighttime launch with a 69-minute window opening at 12:07 a.m. ET (9:07 p.m. PT on Nov. 13).”
Full Story (CNET News)
NASA Hoping to Launch Artemis I in November
The Miami (FL) Herald reports that following multiple delays of the Artemis I launch, it “looks like a launch in the middle of November is the soonest NASA is hoping for another attempt of the Space Launch System (SLS).” NASA says the next launch window for Artemis I is November 12-27. NASA said, “Focusing efforts on the November launch period allows time for employees at Kennedy to address the needs of their families and homes after the storm and for teams to identify additional checkouts needed before returning to the pad for launch.”
Full Story (Miami (FL) Herald)
NASA to Return Artemis to Primary Hangar Due to Hurricane Ian
Bloomberg reports that “NASA will return its Artemis rocket and spacecraft to its primary hangar as Hurricane Ian approaches Florida, ending any chance of a launch in the next several days.” The Washington Post reports that the Artemis mission’s management team were hoping that “conditions would improve. They didn’t. And when the” team “met Monday morning, it decided it was best to roll the 322-foot-tall rocket, with the spacecraft mounted on top, back the four miles to the massive Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center.” According to the Post, this is a “frustrating and disappointing moment for a program that has been plagued by all sorts of problems over the years: cost overruns and technical delays – which have filled multiple government watchdog reports – have painted a grim picture of lax government oversight and poor contractor performance.”
Full Story (Bloomberg); More Info (Washington Post)
Watch the Artemis I launch live on NASA TV
If Artemis 1 does not launch in October, the next launch window is from Nov. 12 to 27.
NASA Prepares for Wednesday SLS Fueling Test
Spaceflight Now reported that engineers “are ready to reload NASA’s Artemis moon rocket with supercold fuel Wednesday to make sure a repaired liquid hydrogen quick-disconnect fitting is leak free, one of two requirements that must be met before the agency can make a third attempt to launch the huge booster September 27 on the program’s maiden moonshot.” NASA is awaiting a waiver from the Space Force Eastern Range “allowing the unpiloted launch to proceed without first double-checking the health of batteries in the rocket’s self-destruct system.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Watch the Artemis I launch live on NASA TV
The next anticipated launch window will take place in late September 2022.
SpaceX Scrubs Starlink Launch Attempt a Third Time
Spaceflight Now reports that for “the third day running, bad weather forced SpaceX to scrub a Falcon 9 launch attempt at Cape Canaveral Thursday night. The Falcon 9 is now scheduled to lift off Friday, weather permitting, to carry the next 54 Starlink internet satellites into orbit.” The launch is planned to take place Friday at 9:05 p.m. EDT, “when forecasters predict a 50-50 chance of acceptable weather conditions. The persistent threat of evening thunderstorms remains in the outlook Friday night, but with a slightly lower chance of violating weather constraints.” Friday’s launch, “designated Starlink 4-34, will carry 54 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
Artemis I Launch Delayed to at Least September 27
SPACE reports that NASA announced Monday it is now targeting September 27 for the Artemis I launch. NASA is planning to conduct an SLS fueling test for September 21. NASA officials wrote Monday, “The updated dates represent careful consideration of multiple logistical topics, including the additional value of having more time to prepare for the cryogenic demonstration test, and subsequently more time to prepare for the launch.”
Full Story (SPACE)
Watch the Artemis I launch live on NASA TV
The next anticipated launch window will take place in late September 2022.