NASA targeting February for launch of first moon rocket since Apollo mission

NASA is present targeting February 2022 for the motorboat of its powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. 

Stacked with the agency’s Orion unit capsule, the SLS is 332 feet gangly and presently sits astatine the Kennedy Space Center successful Florida. 

SLS will launch the adjacent procreation of heavy abstraction operations, including Artemis missions, connected and astir the moon.

It was initially slated to instrumentality off in November but has tally down schedule. 

NASA said successful a Friday release that the integrated strategy is entering the last signifier of preparations for an upcoming uncrewed formation trial astir the satellite – including a bid of integrated tests.

Its mission, known arsenic Artemis I, volition pave the mode for a aboriginal formation trial with unit and NASA aims to nonstop the archetypal pistillate and the archetypal idiosyncratic of colour connected the satellite successful coming years. 

“It’s hard to enactment into words what this milestone means, not lone to america present astatine Exploration Ground Systems, but to each the incredibly talented radical who person worked truthful hard to assistance america get to this point,” Mike Bolger, Exploration Ground Systems programme manager, said successful a  statement “Our squad has demonstrated tremendous dedication preparing for the motorboat of Artemis I. While determination is inactive enactment to beryllium done to get to launch, with continued integrated tests and Wet Dress Rehearsal, seeing the afloat stacked SLS is surely a reward for each of us.” 

Testing includes interface verification testing, program-specific engineering testing, end-to-end communications testing, countdown sequencing investigating and bedewed formal rehearsal testing.

According to Space.com, successful a Friday media briefing, lawman subordinate head for exploration systems improvement astatine NASA Headquarters Tom Whitmeyer told reporters that the stacked rocket and unit capsule volition rotation retired to the Launch Pad 398 successful precocious December for investigating and westbound formal rehearsal investigating successful January earlier going backmost for much checkouts followed by different determination onto the pad.

“Prior to rolling retired to the pad for bedewed dress, teams volition behaviour the archetypal of a two-part trial of the formation termination strategy wrong the VAB. Once the systems are verified, the 322-foot-tall rocket volition rotation backmost into the VAB for last inspections and checkouts, including the 2nd portion of the formation termination strategy test, up of returning to the pad for launch.,” NASA wrote, noting that Artemis I ngo operations teams would proceed to tally further motorboat simulations starring up to launch.

The bureau said it would acceptable a circumstantial motorboat day pursuing a palmy bedewed formal rehearsal.

SLS is powered by a halfway stage with 4 RS-25 liquid propellant engines and duplicate five-segment coagulated rocket boosters that nutrient millions of pounds of thrust.

NASA already fired up the halfway signifier and its engines doubly this twelvemonth to guarantee that the rocket’s components were moving – though the archetypal blistery occurrence trial successful January ended aboriginal owed to a hydraulic strategy issue.

NASA eventually completed the motor trial firing of its satellite rocket successful March. 

The 1972 Apollo 17 mission was the past successful which humans traveled to the moon.